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A    HISTORY 


OF 


THE   FOUR  GEORGES, 

^iitgs  of  <l5it|Iinrlr ; 


CONTAINING 


PERSOXAl^  IXCIDEXTS  OF  THEIR  LIVES,  PUBLIC  EYEXTS 
OF  THEIR  REIGX^S, 


AND 


BIOGKAPHICAL   NOTICES    OF   THEIR    CHIEF    MmiSTEE3,    C0UETIEE3, 

AND  FAVORITES. 


BY 

SAMUEL  M.  SMUCKER,  LL.  D. 

AITTHOB  or  "COCET  AND    KEIGN    OP    CATHEEINE  U.,"   "lIEMOEABLE    SCENES    IN  FEENCH 
HI8T0ET,"   "  LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  ALEXASDEK  nAMILTON,"   ETC. 


NEW  YORK : 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COjMPANY, 

346   &  343  BROADWAY. 
LOXDOX:   16  LITTLE  BPJTAI^s". 
1860. 


Enteeed,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 

SAMUEL  M.  SMUCKEE, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


DA 


PREFACE 


The  period  during  whicli  the  Four  Georges  wielded  the 
sceptre  of  the  British  empire,  may  justly  be  regarded  as  the 
Augustan  era  of  British  history.  At  no  other  period  has  the 
nation  produced  so  many  eminent  statesmen,  orators,  generals, 
philosophers,  poets,  and  savans ;  nor  have  public  events  of 
equal  magnitude  and  interest  occurred  at  any  other  e^^och  of 
the  nation's  i^rogress.  If  there  Avere  few  features  of  the  j^er- 
sonal  character  of  those  sovereigns  which  rendered  them 
worthy  of  notice,  there  never  existed  rulers  in  any  age  or 
country  who  derived  so  brilliant  a  reflected  lustre  from  the 
colossal  minds  by  w^hom  they  were  surrounded ;  from  the 
thrilling  transactions  in  which  they  were  compelled  to  act  a 
part ;  and  from  the  imposing  eminence  on  which  the  accident 
of  birth  had  placed  them. 

Hitherto  little  knowledge  of  this  era  and  of  its  events 
could  be  obtained  by  the  general  reader,  except  at  very  con- 
siderable expense,  and  by  the  perusal  of  many  ponderous 
volumes.  As  this  process  does  not  comport  with  the  con- 
venience or  the  leisure  of  a  large  portion  of  the  reading  pub- 
he,  it  seemed  to  the  writer  that  a  work  which  narrated  the 
chief  incidents  of  the  public  history  and  private  lives  of  the 
Four  Georges,  in  a  compact  and  convenient  compass,  might 
be  useful,  by  filling  up  an  unoccupied  niche  in  that  department 
of  our  hterature.  The  present  writer  has  therefore  attempted 
the  task  ;  and  has  endeavored  to  present,  beside  the  matters 
just  named,  a  survey  of  the  causes  and  the  consequences  of 


o-e 


IV  PKEFACE. 

events,  historic  iJortraits  of  the  chief  ministers,  courtiers,  and 
favorites  of  those  sovereigns,  with  summary  views  of  the 
nature  and  results  of  their  measures. 

In  i^erforming  such  a  task  within  the  prescribed  limits,  a 
prudent  condensation  of  materials  bejcame  an  essential  element 
of  success,  while  at  tlie  same  time  the  danger  of  being  super- 
ficial and  unsatisfactory  would  be  imminent.  The  writer  has 
carefully  labored  to  attain  the  former,  and  to  avoid  the  latter. 
His  effort  has  been  to  select  what  was  most  important  and 
noteworthy  in  the  history  of  the  men  and  the  epoch  imder  con- 
sideration, at  the  same  time  omitting  whatever  seemed  trivial 
in  itself,  incidental  in  its  occurrence,  and  insignificant  in  its 
consequences. 

That  the  subject  of  this  volume  possesses  an  interest  with 
American  readers,  cannot  weU  be  doubted.  The  era  of  which 
we  have  written  was  the  formative  period  of  the  present  time, 
both  in  England  and  in  the  United  States.  England  then  gave 
birth  to  the  men  and  the  institutions  which  were  the  predeces- 
sors of  those  which  now  exist  among  us  ;  and  though,  by  as- 
suming the  airs  of  a  stepmother,  she  compelled  her  offspring 
to  desert  her  bosom,  and  maintain  an  independent,  and  for  a 
time,  a  hostile  relation  toward  her,  they  feel  an  interest  in  her 
history  and  her  fate.  If  this  volume  may  diffuse  information 
in  reference  to  the  past  career  and  condition  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  influential  nation  of  modern  times,  the  writer  wiU 
be  happy  to  have  contributed,  in  however  humble  a  degree,  to 
so  desirable  a  result. 

S.  M.  S. 

Philadelphia,  Sept.^  1859. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

EVENTS  "WHICH   PRECEDED   THE  ACCESSION  OF   THE  HOUSE  OF  HANOVEK. 

FACE 

Colossal  Power  of  Louis  SIV.  at  the  commencement  of  tlie  Eighteenth  Century — 
William  of  Orange — Accession  of  Queen  Anne — The  "War  of  the  Spanish  Suc- 
cession— Marlborough — Capture  of  Liege  and  Bonn — Events  of  1704 — Memo- 
rable Conflict  of  Blenheim — Its  Eesults — Rejoicing  throughout  the  Continent — 
Exultations  in  England — Events  of  1705— Third  Campaign  of  the  War— Battle  of 
Eamillies — Defeat  of  the  French — Eesults  of  the  Victory — Supremacy  of  the 
Duchess  of  Marlborough — Declin'^  of  her  Influence — Battle  of  Oudenarde — Hu- 
miliation of  Louis  XIV. — His  Appeal  to  the  French  Nation — Great  Battle  of 
Malplaquet — Defeat  of  the  French — Influence  of  Mrs.  Masham — Disgrace  of 
Marlborough — Extraordinary  Treaty  with  Louis  XIV. — Death  of  Queen  Anne,       1 


PAET  I. 

LIFE   AND   REIGN    OF   GEORGE    THE   FIRST. 

CHAPTER  L 

Origin  of  the  House  of  Hanover — History  of  the  Family  of  Zell — Birth  of  George 
I. — His  Visit  to  England — His  Accession  to  the  Electorate  of  Hanover — His  Mar- 
riage— Sophia  Dorothea  of  Zell — Her  Attachment  to  Koenigsmark — The  Count- 
ess Von  Platen — Her  crafty  and  malicious  Intrigues — Peculiar  Qualities  of  her 
Family — The  Imprudence  of  Koenigsmark  and  the  Princess  Sophia — They  deter- 
mine to  elope — Discovery  of  the  Plot — Violent  and  mysterious  Death  of  Koe- 
nigsmark— Popular  Eumors  in  reference  to  his  Fate.        ,       .  ...    19 

CHAPTER  IL 

Imprisonment  of  the  Crown  Princess — Her  formal  Separation  from  her  Hnsband — 
Evidences  of  her  Guilt — Her  mode  of  lifo  at  Ahlden — Her  Memoirs — Accession 
of  her  Husband  to  the  British  Throne — His  inditference  on  the  subject — His 
arrival  in  England — State  of  Parties  at  that  time — Doctrines  of  the  Whigs  and 
Tories — The  Government  in  the  hands  of  tho  Whigs — Coronation  of  George  I. — 
Proceedings  in  Parliament— Violence  of  Parties — The  Eoyal  Mistresses — First 
Visit  of  George  I.  to  Hanover — Hostility  between  the  King  and  Heir  Apparent,    80 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Jacobite  Rebellion — The  Pretender  proclaimed  in  Scotland — The  Victory  at 
Preston — The  Septennial  Bill — Furious  Debates  in  Parliament — History  of  the 
South  Sea  Bubble — Its  Unparalleled  Effects — National  frenzy — Universal  Bank- 
ruptcy— Judicious  measures  adopted  by  Sir.  Kobert  "Walpole — Peculiar  qualities 
of  this  Minister — His  Personal  and  Political  History — His  Eminent  Services  to 
the  House  of  Hanover 45 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Movements  of  the  Pretender — Apprehensions  felt  in  England — Bishop  Atterbury — 
His  Trial  for  Treason,  and  Banishment — Theological  Controversies — ^Doctrine  of 
the  Trinity — Spirit  of  Religious  Toleration — The  Earl  of  Nottingham's  Bill  of 
Pains  and  Penalties — Bigotry  and  Intolerance  of  the  Bishops — Persecution  of  the 
Roman  Catholics — Relations  of  England  with  the  Continental  Powers  .       .       .    57 

CHAPTER  V. 

Treaty  formed  between  England  and  the  Continental  Powers — Horace  "Walpole— 
Dissatisfaction  with  the  Treaty — Trial  and  Punishment  of  the  Earf  of  Maccles- 
field— Return  of  Bolingbroke  to  England — He  unites  with  Pulteney  and  Wind- 
ham in  opposition — Character  of  William  Pulteney — His  remarkable  Attain- 
ments— Character  of  Windham — Description  of  Bolingbroke — His  Early  History 
— His  Physical  Advantages — His  Prodigious  Talents — His  Political  Career — 
Death  ofthe  Wife  of  Georgcl.  at  Ahlden 65 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Meeting  of  Parliament— The  Royal  Speech — Loyal  Address  of  the  Legislature — 
The  Restoration  of  Gibraltar — Threatened  Hostilities  with  France — Sudden 
Establishment  of  Peace — Domestic  and  Foreign  Prosperity — Last  Visit  of  George 
I.  to  Hanover — His  Illness  and  Death — Character  of  this  Monarch — His  neglect 
of  Literature — Survey  of  his  Reign — Joseph  Addison — Dean  Swift — His  Genius 
and  Irreligion — Writings  of  Alexander  Pope — John  Gay — Sir  Isaac  Newton — 
John  Flamsteed — State  of  Morals  and  Religion  in  England  during  the  Reign  of 
George  I,       .       .       , T6 


PAKT  II. 

LIFE  AND  REIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  SECOND. 

CHAPTER  L 
Birth  of  George  II. — His  Removal  to  England— His  Marriage — His  Court  in  Leices- 
ter House — Commanding  Talents  of  his  Wife — Her  Female  Favorites — Prince 
Frederic — Hostility  between  him  and  his  Parents — The  Accession  of  George  II. — 
He  destroys  his  Father's  Will— His  Cabinet— He  retains  Robert  Walpole— Duke 
of  Newcastle — Earl  of  Chesterfield— Lord  Carteret— His  Remarkable  Talents         91 

CHAPTER  II. 
Eevennes  and  Expenses  of  the  Government— Spanish  Aggressions  on  British  Com 
merce— The  Treaty  of  Vienna^ Walpole's  Law  of  Excise— Marriage  of  the  Prin- 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAGE 

cess  Anne  to  the  Prince  of  Orange — Incidents  connected  with  the  Marriage — 
Mortif^-ing  conduct  of  Frederic,  Prince  of  Wales — He  leads  the  Opposition 
against  Walpole — Motion  to  repeal  the  Septennial  Parliament  Act — Increase  of 
the  National  Forces  by  Land  and  Sea 100 

CHAPTER  III. 

Domestic  Life  of  George  11. — Quarrels  with  Prince  Frederic— The  King's  Visit  to 
Hanover— Singular  Correspondence  between  the  King  and  Queen — The  Mon.irch's 
Contempt  for  the  Bishops — Marriage  of  Prince  Frederic  proposed — First  Speech 
of  William  Pitt  in  Parliament — The  Princess  Augusta  of  Saxe-Coburg — Her 
Marriage  to  the  Heir  Apparent— Her  Arrival  in  England — Visit  of  George  II.  to 
Hanover — His  Intrigue  with  Madame  Walmoden — Popular  Satires  and  Cari- 
catures of  the  Monarch  at  Homo 103 

CHAPTER  IV. 

George  II.  embarks  for  England — A  Storm  arises — Apprehensions  for  his  Fate — He 
narrowly  escapes  Shipwreck — Congratulations  of  the  Eoyal  Family  and  of  Par- 
liament— Eevenues  of  Prince  Frederic— Coarseness  and  Vulgarity  of  the  King 
and  Queen — Confinement  of  the  Princess  of  Wales — Disgraceful  feuds  in  the 
Royal  Family — Declining  health  of  the  Queen — Domestic  Scenes — The  Queen's 
last  Illness — Her  Death — Ridiculous  Conduct  of  the  Bereaved  Monarch      .        .  IIT 

CHAPTER  V. 

Fate  of  the  Queen's  Favorites — Lord  Hervey — Intellectual  and  Moral  Character  of 
the  defunct  Queen — Spanish  Aggressions — The  National  Forces  Augmented — 
War  Declared  against  Spain — Events  of  the  War — Cabal  in  Parliament  against 
Walpole — Its  Failure — Hostility  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  the  Minister — Wal- 
pole compelled  at  last  to  Resign — His  Services  to  the  Monarch     ....  128 

CHAPTER  VL 
The  Members  of  the  New  Cabinet — The  Pension  Bill — Lord  Carteret  Prime  Min- 
ister— The  Seven  Tears'  War — George  II.  present  at  the  Battle  of  Dettingen — 
Events  of  1745 — Battle  of  Fontenoy — Movements  of  the  Pretender  in  Scotland — 
His  Successor— His  Defeat  at  Culloden — Success  of  British  Arms  at  Home  and 
Abroad— Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 133 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

Death  of  Frederic,  Prince  of  Wales — Peculiar  Conduct  of  the  King  on  the  Occasion — 
Decline  of  the  opposition  in  Parliament — Increasing  Eminence  of  William  Pitt — 
Character  of  his  Eloquence — Mr.  Murray — Henry  Fox — Acts  of  Parliament- 
Death  of  Henry  Pelham — Duke  of  Newcastle  Prime  Minister — War  between 
the  English  and  French  Colonies  in  North  America — The  King's  Address  to 
Parliament  in  November,  1755 — Furious  Debates  which  Ensued — War  with 
France— Cowardice  of  Admiral  Byng — The  Disappointment  and  Rage  of  the 
Nation — The  Trial,  Conviction,  and  Execution  of  the  Admiral      ....  148 

CHAPTER  VIIL 

England  without  a  Ministry— New  Cabinet  formed — William  Pitt  becomes  Premier 
— His  Extraordinary  Character — The  Vigor  and  Energy  of  his  Government — 
Success  of  the  British  Arms  by  Land  and  Sea— National  Exultation— The  British 


VIU  COXTENTS. 

PAOB 

Empire  in  India— Its  History  and  Vicissitudes— The  French  Power  in  India- 
Conflicts  between  the  two  Nations— Brilliant  Victories  of  Clive — ^Surajah 
Doulah— Horrors  of  the  Black  Hole— Popularity  of  Pitt's  Administration  at 
Home—Death  of  George  II.— His  Intellectual  and  Moral  Character— Eminent 
Men  of  Letters  during  his  Eeign -State  of  Keligion  and  of  the  Established 
Church — Cardinal  Principle  of  the  Government  of  George  II         .       .       .        .159 


PAET   III. 

LIFE  AND  REIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  THIRD. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Birth  of  George  III. — His  Connection  with  Hannah  Lightfoot — Lady  Sarah  Lennox- 
Proposals  for  his  Marriage— Kesearches  of  Colonel  Graeme— The  Prince's  Mar- 
riage to  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz— Her  Character — Accession  of  George 
III.— His  Mental  Qualities— His  Personal  Appearance — Administration  of  Wil- 
liam Pitt— Lord  Bute — His  Relation  to  the  Princess  Dowager — A  New  Minis- 
try—Meeting of  Parliament — War  declared  against  Spain— Incidents  of  the 
Conflict ITS 

CHAPTER  II. 

Birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales— Policy  of  the  Bute  Cabinet — ^Treaty  of  Peace  with 
Spain — Dissatisfaction  of  the  Nation — Eloquence  of  Pitt  and  Fox — Resignation 
of  Lord  Bute — His  Great  Unpopularity— George  Grenville  becomes  Premier — 
John  Wilkes — His  Singular  Character — His  Wit — His  Contest  with  the  Court — 
His  Expulsion  from  Parliament — His  Arrest  for  Libel— His  "  Essay  on  Woman" — 
His  Intrepidity — His  ultimate  Triumph  over  the  Ministers 189 

CHAPTER  IIL 
Financial  Affairs  of  the  Nation — Resolution  to  impose  Stamp  Duties  on  the  Amer- 
ican Colonies — A  Council  of  Regency  Appointed — Death  of  the  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland— The  Rockingham  Ministry — Inefficiency  of  this  Cabinet — First  appear- 
ance of  Burke  in  Parliament — Dispute  with  the  American  Colonies — Discussions 
in  reference  to  their  Taxation — Arguments  advanced  on  both  sides  of  the 
Question — Return  of  William  Pitt  to  Power 203 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Lord  Chatham's  Inefficiency — His  Illness — His  Absurd  Conduct — His  Singular  Se- 
clusion—Inflexibility of  George  III. — Resignation  of  Lord  Chatham — The  Par 
liamentary  Election  of  176S — Renewal  of  the  Contest  with  Wilkes — His  Repeated 
Election  to,  and  Expulsion  from,  Parliament— His  Ultimate  Defeat — Charter  of 
the  British  East  India  Company — The  Letters  of  Junius — Intense  Excitement 
produced  by  their  Appearance 211 

CHAPTER  V. 

Lord  North  becomes  Premier — Renewal  of  Wilkes's  Case— The  Stamp  Act— Wilkes 
elected  an  Alderman  of  London — His  Contest  with  the  Court — Growing  Troubles 
with  the  American  Colonies — Benjamin  Franklin  in  England— First  Conven- 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGB 

tlon  of  the  American  Congress— Petition  presented  to  George  III.  by  "Wilkes 
as  Mayor  of  London— Commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  War— Hostilities 
between  England  and  France— Disturbances  in  Ireland— Death  of  Lord 
Chatham 228 

CHArXER  YL 
Domestic  Life  of  George  III.— His  PubUc  and  Private  Cares— Pvepeal  of  the  Laws 
against  Roman  Catholics— First  Appearance  of  the  second  William  Pitt  in  Par- 
liament-Affairs of  the  British  East  India  Company— The  Pase  and  Progress  of 
that  vast  Empire— Outrages  and  Tyranny  which  disgraced  its  history— Admin- 
istration of  Warren  Hastings— Incidents  of  the  War  in  America— Second  Ad- 
ministration of  Lord  Kockingham— Proposals  of  Peace  with  the  Colonies  in 
America— Provisional  Articles— Final  Adjustment  of  the  Treaty  .       .       .       .230 

CHAPTEE  VII. 

Joint  Ministry  of  Lord  North  and  Mr.  Fox— Renewed  Insanity  of  George  III.— 
Mr.  Fox's  East  India  Bill— Dismissal  of  the  Coalition  Cabinet— The  younger 
Pitt  becomes  Premier— The  Quality  and  Effects  of  his  Oratory— Splendid  Era 
of  British  Eloquence— Mr.  Pitt's  East  India  Bill— Troubles  in  Ireland— Influence 
of  Flood  and  Grattan— Pitt's  Financial  Measures— Affairs  of  India— Adminis- 
tration of  Warren  Hastings— His  Life,  Character,  and  Genius— His  Trial  before 
the  House  of  Peers— Unrivallsd  Displays  of  Forensic  Eloquence— Hastings' 
final  Triumph  and  Acquittal       .        .  « 239 

CHAPTEE  VIIL 

Attempt  to  assassinate  the  King— State  of  his  Mind— Disgraceful  Conduct  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales— The  King's  Insanity  returns— The  peculiarities  of  his  Disease— 
His  Successive  Attacks— PvCgency  Bill— The  King's  sudden  Pvccovery- Important 
Events  in  France— Their  Influence  on  the  Popular  Mind  in  England— Debates 
In  Parliament  in  reference  to  these  Events— Eiots— Recall  of  the  British  Am- 
bassador at  Paris— Expulsion  of  the  French  Ambassador  from  England— Dan- 
gerous Excitement  pervading  the  Nation — The  French  Republic  declares  War 
against  the  King  of  England  and  the  Dutch  Stadtholder 249 

CHAPTEE  IX. 
Events  of  the  War  with  France— Increased  Unpopularity  of  the  King— He  is  assailed 
by  the  Populace — He  is  fired  at  in  the  Theatre— The  Roman  Catholic  Bill — 
Demand  of  Bonaparte  that  the  French  Princes  be  expelled  from  England— Inci- 
dents of  the  Hostilities  which  ensued— Conspiracy  of  Robert  Emmet  in  Ireland 
— Its  Suppression— Decline  of  the  Addington  Ministry — Hostilities  with  France 
—Triumph  of  Nelson  at  Trafalgar— Exultation  of  the  Nation— Death  of  William 
Pitt— He  is  succeeded  by  Charles  James  Fox- His  short  Administration  and 
Death— Lord  Howick — Mr.  Canning  becomes  Foreign  Secretary — British  Vic- 
tories in  Spain  and  Portugal— Prodigious  Power  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte      .       .  261 

CHAPTEE  X. 
Eenewed  and  Hopeless  Insanity  of  George  III- Details    respecting  the  Origin, 
Nature,  and  Effects  of  his  Mental  Disease— His  Physicians— His  Treatment— 
His  Condition  officially  communicated  to  Parliament— A  Regency  permanently 

1* 


X  CONTENTS. 

PA62 

appointed— Gradual  Decline  of  the  IleaUh  of  George  III.— "War  with  the 
United  States  of  America— Growth  of  the  Power  and  Supremacy  of  Napo- 
leon—His Overthrow  by  the  European  Coalition — His  Eetirement  at  Elba  .       .  273 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Napoleon's  Escape  from  Elba— His  Arrival  at  Paris— Combination  of  the  Great 
Powers  of  Europe  against  him— His  Prodigious  Efforts  to  Confront  them— 
Immense  Eesources  of  the  Allies— Conflict  at  Charleroi — At  Ligny — At  Qnatre 
Bras— Preparation  for  a  Decisive  Battle— Th*^  Field  of  Waterloo— Incidents 
of  this  Memorable  Battle — Heroism  of  the  Combatants — Defeat  of  JSTapoleon — 
Gratitude  of  the  British  Nation  to  the  British  Generals  and  Soldiers— Paci- 
fication of  the  Continent — State  of  the  Finances — Commotions  in  Ireland — 
Domestic  Legislation— The  Eegency— Death  of  George  III.— State  of  the  British 
Empire  at  this  Period 279 

CHAPTEE  XII. 

Importance  of  the  Era  of  George  III.— Historic  Portraits  of  its  most  Distinguished 
Personages— William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham— His  Appearance— Character  of  his 
Eloquence — His  high  sense  of  Honor— His  Enlarged  and  Enlightened  Views — 
Lord  North— His  Character  and  Talents— The  Difficulties  of  his  Position— Splen- 
did array  of  Parliamentary  Orators  of  this  Era— Varied  Talents  of  Edmund 
Burke— His  Imagination— His  Erudition— His  Conservative  Opinions— Charles 
James  Fox— His  Contrast  in  every  Eespect  to  Burlje- His  prodigious  Power  as 
a  Parliamentary  Debater— His  Efforts  as  an  Author— The  Younger  Pitt  the 
sole  Eival  of  Fox  as  a  Debater— Sheridan— His  Merits  and  Defects— William 
Windham — Junius — Distinguished  Jurists— Horace  Walpole — Eminent  Histo- 
rians, Poets,  and  Prelates  of  the  Eeign  of  George  III 296 

i 


PAKT   lY 

LIFE  AND   REIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH 

CHAPTEE  L 
Birth  of  George  IV. — Congratulations  on  the  Event — His  Early  Education — Hia 
Talents  — His  Disposition — His  Connection  with  Miss  Darby — Her  History — 
Frantic  Admiration  of  the  Prince — Incidents  of  their  Attachment— The  Prince 
removes  to  Carlton  House — His  Peculiar  Manner  of  Making  Love — His  Con- 
nection with  Mrs.  Crouch — He  becomes  the  Admirer  of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert — Her 
Origin  and  History — Her  Extraordinary  Beauty — She  is  privately  Married  to 
the  Prince — Their  Eesidence  together — Unprincipled  denial  of  their  Marriage 
in  Parliament  by  orders  of  the  Prince — Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  Indignation  at  his 
Perfidy— Immense  Debts  of  the  Prince — ^They  are  paid  by  an  Appropriation  of 
Parliament 823 

CHAPTEE  IL 

Eemoval  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Brighton— His  Attachment  to  Mrs.  Fitzherbert— 
His  Extravagance — His  Marriage  proposed  to  a  German  Princess — Alleged  In- 
validity of  his  Marriage  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert— Hia  Match  with  Caroline  of 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Brnnswick  Consummated— Her  Character  and  Appearance— Arrival  of  the 
Princess  iu  England — Her  first  Interview  with  her  future  Husband — Its  Un- 
happy Result — The  Maniage  Ceremony — Disgraceful  Conduct  of  the  Bride- 
groom— His  Eemoval  to  Carlton  House — Liquidation  of  the  enormous  Debts  of 
the  Prince— Domestic  Quarrels  between  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales — 
Birth  of  the  Princess  Charlotte— Final  Separation  of  her  Parents         .        .       .  832 

'  CHAPTER  III. 
Defects  of  the  Prince  of  Wales — ^The  Inconsistency  of  his  Political  Conduct — ^The 
Situation  of  the  Princess  of  Wales — Lord  and  Lady  Douglas — Malicious  Charges 
of  the  latter  against  the  Princess— Trial  of  the  Princess  for  Adultery— Evi- 
dence in  her  favor — Her  Acquittal — The  Sympathy  of  the  Nation  in  her  behalf— 
The  Prince  of  Wales  takes  a  new  Mistress — Lady  Hertford— Einancial  Em- 
barrassments of  the  Princess  of  Wales — Death  of  Mr.  Percival — Duke  of 
Wellington — The  Prince  of  Wales  obtains  an  unrestricted  Regency     .        .       .  349 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Unpleasant  Position  of  the  Princess  Charlotte — Published  Letter  of  the  Princess 
of  Wales — Flight  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  from  her  Father's  Residence—  She  Is 
compelled  to  return — Rage  of  the  Prince  Regent  at  her  Flight — Persecutions 
of  her  Mother— The  Princess  of  Wales  resolves  to  travel  on  the  Continent — Mar- 
riage of  the  Princess  Charlotte — Her  Subsequent  Death — General  Grief  of  the 
Nation — Conduct  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  during  her  Travels — The  Milan  Com- 
mission—Resolution of  the  Princess  to  return  to  England — Her  Second  Trial 
for  Adultery  is  resolved  upon 353 

CHAPTER  V. 
Commencement  of  the  Scrutiny — The  Famous  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties — The 
Queen's  Accusers  and  Defenders — Imposing  Scene  in  the  House  of  Lords — 
Distinguished  Rank  of  the  Judges,  Accuser,  Defendant,  and  Counsel — Exami- 
nation of  the  Witnesses — Learning  and  Acuteness  of  Messrs.  Denman  and 
Brougham — Overwhelming  Power  of  their  Eloquence — The  Virtual  Triumph 
of  the  Queen — ^The  Withdrawal  of  the  Bill — Exultation  of  her  Friends — Popular 
Rejoicings  and  Processions — Mortification  and  Malignity  of  the  King    .        .       .  3C7 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Preparations  for  the  Coronation  of  George  IV. — Intense  interest  felt  by  him  in  tho 
Ceremony — Determination  of  Queen  Caroline  to  be  present — Efforts  made  to 
dissuade  her  from  so  doing — Her  Unconquerable  Obstinacy — Splendor  and  Mag- 
nificence of  the  Ceremony — Efi"ort  of  the  Queen  to  gain  admission  to  tho 
Abbey — Her  Ignominious  Failure — Her  Dreadful  Mortification — The  effect  pro- 
duced by  it  upon  her  Health — Her  immediate  and  rapid  Decline— Her  Death — 
Her  Character — Malignant  Hatred  of  her  Husband — His  Joy  at  her  Death — 
Removal  of  her  Remains  to  Brunswick— Her  Burial 876 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Death  of  the  Duke  of  Kent — Historic  Portrait  of  his  Life — His  early  Education — 

His  Residence  at  Geneva— His  Sudden  Flight  to  England — Tyranny  of  George 

III. — The  Duke  is  ordered  to  Gibraltar — His  Poverty — His  Campaign  in  the 

West  Indies— His  Residence  in  Canada — He  is  appointed  Governor  of  Gibraltar 


XU  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

— Character  of  his  Administration — He  returns  to  England — His  Debts — His 
Marriage  with  the  Princess  of  Leinengen — His  Kesidence  at  Amoorback — Birth 
of  the  Princess  Tictoria— The  Duke  of  Clarence — George  IV.  visits  Ireland, 
Scotland,  and  Hanover — Abilities  of  Mr.  Huskisson — Financial  state  of  the  Em- 
pire— Valuable  services  of  Mr.  Canning 8S9 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Disturbed  state  of  Ireland— Miseries  endured  by  the  Laboring  Classes — Establish- 
ment of  Secret  Societies — The  Catholic  Association — The  Talents  and  Influence 
of  Daniel  O'Connell — .Agitation  in  favor  of  Irish  Emancipation — Eepeal  of  the 
Corn  Laws  Proposed — Death  of  Lord  Liverpool — Dilemma  of  George  IV. — Mr. 
Canning  becomes  Premier — His  Death — Lord  Goderich  succeeds  him  and  re- 
signs— Duke  of  ^Vellington  becomes  Prime  Minister — Opposition  of  George 
IV.  to  Catholic  Emancipation— Passage  of  the  Catholic  Relief  Bill— English 
antipathy  to  Papists  and  Jesuits — Parliamentary  Reform  Bill  Introduced— 
Illness  of  George  IV.— His  Death— His  Character 401 

CHAPTER  IS. 

Survey  of  Distinguished  Personages  During  the  Reign  of  George  IV. — Mr.  Can- 
ning— Mr.  Brougham — Details  of  their  Lives  aud  Labors — Estimate  of  their 
Talents — William  Wilberforce — Charles  Earl  Grey — Eminent  Men  of  Let- 
ters— Sir  Walter  Scott— Lord  Byron- Thomas  Campbell— Thomas  Moore— Meta- 
physicians— The  School  of  Modern  British  Essayists— Historians — Artists — 
Tragedians  and  Preachers  of  the  Era  of  George  IV.— Conclusion  ....  418 


HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 


IKTEODUCTIOK. 


EVENTS  WHICH  PBECEDED  THE  ACCESSION  OF  THE  HOTTSE  OF  HANOVEE. 

Colossal  Power  of  Louis  XIV.  at  the  commencement  of  the  Eighteenth  Century— 
■William  of  Orange — Accession  of  Queen  Anne— The  "War  of  the  Spanish  Succession 
— Marlborough — Capture  of  Liege  and  Bonn— Events  of  1704 — Memorable  Conflict 
of  Blenheim — Its  Results — Eejoicing  throughout  the  Continent — Exultations  in 
England— Events  of  1705— Third  Campaign  of  the  War- Battle  of  Eamillies— Defeat 
of  the  French — Eesults  of  the  Victory — Supremacy  of  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough — 
Decline  of  her  Influence — Battle  of  Oudcnarde — Ilumiliation  of  Louis  XIV. — His 
Appeal  to  the  French  Xation — Great  Battle  of  Malplaquet— Defeat  of  the  French — 
Influence  of  Mrs.  Masham — Disgrace  of  Marlborough — ^Extraordinary  Treaty  with 
Louis  XIV. — Death  of  Queen  Anne. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  colossal 
power  and  tlie  restless  ambition  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  were 
sources  of  apprehension  to  England,  and  to  every  community  in 
Europe.  He  was  a  monarch  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  and 
his  controlling  characteristic  w'as  an  insatiable  desire  for  the 
increase  of  his  power,  and  the  aggrandizement  of  his  dominions. 
He  was  indeed  intensely  despotic  in  his  views ;  and  his  whole 
life  was  devoted  to  the  concentration  of  all  the  authority  of  the 
Btate  in  his  own  august  person.*     Every  portion  of  Europe,  in 

*  The  most  reliable  sources  from  which  information  may  be  derived  in  refer- 
ence to  the  events  which  occurred  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  and  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  accession  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  are  :  Life  of  the  Duke 
of  Marlborough,  hy  Archdeacon,  Coxe  ;  History  of  the  Last  Four  Years  of  Queen 
Anne,  by  Jonathan  Swift,  London,  1758  ;  History  of  Great  Britain  during  the 
Beign  of  Queen  Anne,  by  Thomas  Sumerville,  London,  1793  ;  Bishop  Burnefs 
History  of  his  Own  Time,  London,  1734. 
1 

/ 
/ 


ii  HISTOET   OF  THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

addition  to  his  own  kingdom,  felt  the  operation  of  this  absolute 
and  all-absoi'bing  principle.  He  was  the  acknowledged  political 
head  of  the  Roman  Catholic  interest.  He  was  also  the  invinci- 
ble foe  of  the  integrity  and  prosperity  of  the  Low  Countries, 
as  was  evinced  by  his  rapid  conquest  of  Flanders,  and  his  de- 
clared determination  to  annex  the  Dutch  provinces  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Eastern  frontiers  of  France  to  his  already  compact  and 
overgrown  empire. 

The  most  formidable  opponent  whom  Louis  XIV.  had  yet 
encountered  in  the  execution  of  his  gigantic  plans  of  conquest, 
was  the  able  and  indomitable  Prince  of  Orange.  That  remarka- 
ble and  mysterious  man,  whose  peculiar  qualities  have  been 
depicted  with  such  masterly  skill  by  the  most  gifted  historian 
whom  the  nineteenth  century  has  produced,*  devoted  his  whole 
life  to  the  task  of  curbing  that  aspiring  spirit,  and  humbling  that 
haughty  head.  In  spite  of  all  his  efforts  Louis  obtained,  partly 
by  treaty  and  partly  by  conquest,  not  only  Flanders,  but  Bava- 
ria, Sardinia,  Naples,  Sicily,  while  he  ruled  the  Spanish  empire 
through  Philip  V.  its  sovereign ;  but  William  of  Orange  succeed- 
ed in  establishing  a  memorable  coalition  against  his  foe,  of  which 
England,  Hanover,  Prussia,  Denmark,  and  Holland  were  mem- 
bers. Before  these  hostile  nations  could  effectively  array  their 
armaments  against  each  other,  the  soul  of  the  conspiracy  expired 
in  the  person  of  its  founder ;  and  several  years  of  undiminished 
supremacy  were  thus  insured  to  the  French  autocrat,  by  the 
death  of  William  IIL 

In  1702  Queen  Anne  ascended  the  British  throne.  Her 
accession  did  not  change  the  intentions  of  the  confederated  powers 
in  reference  to  the  cominon  enemy  ;  but  it  brought  upon  the 
stage  of  action  great  heroes  who  were  destined  to  take  a  prom- 
inent part  in  some  of  the  most  momentous  events  of  modern 
times.  The  War  of  the  Succession  still  remained  the  all-absorb- 
ing topic  of  interest  in  England.  The  preservation  of  the  bal- 
ance of  power  on  the  continent,  the  subjugation  of  Louis,  and  the 
firm  establishment  of  the  Protestant  religion  in  England,  al' 

*  Macaulaj,  History  of  England,  Vol.  II.  page  48,  Amer.  Ed. 


INTRODUCTION. 


seemed  to  be  dependent  upon  the  events  of  the  war  which  were 
about  to  ensue.  Hostilities  commenced  in  1703.  The  allied 
army  amounted  to  fifty-six  thousand  men,  that  of  the  French 
numbered  sixty  thousand.  The  former  was  commanded  by  two 
generals  whose  abilities  and  fame  have  never  been  surpassed  in 
modern  times,  and  whose  sagacity  and  self-control  were  so  re- 
markable, that  they  never  permitted  any  jealous  feeling  to  inter- 
fere for  a  moment  in  their  perfect  harmony  of  action.  These 
were  Marlborough  and  Prince  Eugene.  They  judiciously  divided 
the  supreme  command  between  them,  each  exercising  it  on  alter- 
nate days,  and  this  arrangement  was  uniformly  observed  during 
eight  successive  campaigns.  The  French  army  was  placed  under 
the  orders  of  Marshal  Tallard,  the  most  able  and  experienced 
general  in  the  French  service.  The  first  events  of  the  war  were 
the  capture  of  Liege,  Bonn,  and  Lienburg  ;  but  soon  incidents  of 
far  more  absorbing  and  thrilling  interest  were  destined  to  occur. 
On  the  2d  of  August,  1704,  the  French  and  allied  armies  took 
their  positions  near  the  then  obscure  but  now  immortal  village  of 
Blenheim,  in  Bavaria.  The  former  were  ported  between  Blen- 
heim on  the  right,  and  Lutzingen  on  the  left.  The  right  wing 
was  commanded  by  Marshal  Tallard,  the  left  by  Marshal  Marsin, 
and  the  extreme  left  by  Duke  Maximilian  of  Bavaria.  Tlie  lines 
extended  two  miles  in  length.  Between  the  combatants  several 
rivulets  flowed,  which  it  was  necessary  for  the  allies  to  cross, 
near  to  their  confluence  with  the  Danube,  before  they  could 
reach  the  elevated  plateau  on  which  the  French  were  admirably 
posted,  protected  by  the  whole  of  their  artillery.  Ere  the 
battle  began,  Marlborough  visited  in  person  every  battery  and 
every  division  of  his  army.  His  lines  were  drawn  up  four  deep. 
Before  the  order  to  advance  was  given,  divine  service  was  cele- 
brated, both  according  to  the  Protestant  and  the  Catholic  ritual, 
at  the  head  of  each  division ;  and  the  God  of  Battles  was  sol- 
emnly invoked  to  aid  in  crushing  the  vaunting  pride  and  power 
of  the  most  inflated  and  presumptuous  of  mortals.  Marlborough 
and  Eugene,  having  each  received  the  sacrament  in  the  centre  of 
their  lines,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  service  the  order  to  march 


4:  HISTOKY   OF   THE  FOTJE   GEOEGES. 

was  given.    Instantly  fifty-six  thousand  men  stood  to  their  arms. 
The  rivulets  and  marshes  in  front  of  Blenheim  and  Unterglau 
were  quickly  passed,  notwithstanding  the  heavy  fire  of  artillery 
which  was  poured  upon  them  by  the  French.     The  latter  calmly 
awaited  the  attack.     At  length  the  combatants  closed  ;  and  both 
sides  fought  with  the  utmost  desperation.     The  English,  under 
Lord  Cutts,  attacked  the  village  of  Blenheim,  where  the  strongest 
portion  of  the  French  infantry  were  posted.     Twenty  thousand 
men  became  furiously  engaged  around  and  within  the  village. 
The  charges  of  the  allies  were  made  with  prodigious  energy,  and 
were  repulsed  with  equal  resolution.     At  length  the  French  pre- 
vailed, and  drove  back  their  assailants  with  immense  slaughter. 
Victory  seemed  about  to  settle  upon  their  standards.     The  cen- 
tre of  the  allied  lines  also  failed  at  this  crisis,  in  their  attack  upon 
the   infantry  posted   under  Marshal   Marsin  in  the  village  of 
Oberglau  ;  and  the  communication  of  the  allies  with  their  right 
Aving  under  Prince  Eugene,  was  thus  very  nearly  cut  off.     The 
consummate  ability  of  Marlborough,  at  this  critical  moment, 
alone  saved  the  fortunes  of  the  dav,  and  turned  the  wavering  tide 
of  battle.     He  instantly  ordered  the  powerful  reinforcements  of 
infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery  which  had  been  placed  in  reserve, 
to  advance  to  support  the  troops  engaged  both  in  Blenheim  and 
in  Obei-glau,  and  against  the  long  line  of  cavalry  which  Tallard 
had  stationed  between  these  two  points  as  their  connecting  link. 
After  a  tremendous  conflict,  those  formidable  squadrons  were 
broken ;  they  fled,  and  were  pursued  toward  the  Danube.     By 
this  means  the  French  infantry  posted  in  Blenheim,  became  iso 
lated,  and  more  assailable  both  in  front  and  in  flank. 

On  the  extreme  right.  Prince  Eugene  met  with  somewhat 
similar  vicissitudes.  At  first,  his  attack  upon  the  French  and 
Bavarians  posted  in  front  of  the  village  of  Lutzingen,  was  re 
pulsed  with  great  slaughter.  The  Danish  contingent  were  thrown 
into  total  confusion.  Thrice  were  they  rallied,  and  thrice  were 
they  broken  by  the  French.  The  steadiness  of  the  Prussians 
whom  Eugene  now  led  forward  as  a  last  resort,  alone  saved  his 
division  of  the  army  from  total  defeat.     They  stood  immovably 


INTRODUCTION.  O 

in  their  ranks ;  then  gradually  advanced  with  a  steady  tread, 
driving  before  them  the  vast  hordes  of  the  French  cavalry ;  and 
by  a  ceaseless  rolling  fire,  they  rejoined  the  position  which  had 
been  first  occupied  by  the  allies.  Thus,  throughout  the  whole 
line,  the  battle  which  had  well  nigh  been  lost  was  retrieved,  and 
victory  still  rendered  attainable. 

The  allies  now  prepared  to  make  a  decisive  movement. 
Blenheim  had  been  taken,  and  the  French  on  the  extreme  right 
had  been  routed.  To  break  the  immense  squadrons  of  French 
horse  posted  between  Blenheim  and  Oberglau,  Marlborough 
ordered  a  body  of  cavalry  ten  thousajid  strong  to  advance.  These 
two  hosts  contained  the  flower  and  chivalry  of  botli  armies,  and 
on  their  conduct  now  depended  the  issue  of  the  day.  In  mag- 
nificent array,  and  in  compact  order,  the  allied  cavalry,  present- 
ing an  imposing  front  of  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  advanced  to 
the  charge.  They  were  met  by  a  fortitude  and  heroism  worthy 
of  their  ovm.  In  both  hosts  all  the  noblest  families  of  England, 
Holland,  Hanover,  and  France,  were  represented  by  their  chival- 
rous sons.  When  the  advancing  lines  had  nearly  met,  they 
rushed  forward  to  the  attack  with  prodigious  fury.  The  conflict 
was  long  and  bloody.  At  length  the  cavalry  of  the  allies  pre- 
vailed, the  immense  squadrons  of  the  French  were  overthrown, 
and  they  fled  tumultuously  from  the  field.  Nine  battalions  were 
surrounded,  cut  to  pieces,  or  taken  prisoners.  This  completed 
the  victory  of  the  left  under  Marlborough. 

On  the  right  Prince  Eugene  still  manfully  upheld  the  fight 
with  his  Prussians.  The  French  lines  were  broken,  and  began 
to  waver  and  retreat.  They  took  post  at  Lutzingen  in  their 
rear,  and  there  a  long  and  bloody  conflict  ensued.  But  the  vic- 
tory of  Marlborough  on  the  left  enabled  him  to  despatch  rein- 
forcements to  the  right,  and  the  Prussians  were  strengthened  by 
accessions  from  the  Danes,  Austrians,  and  Wiirtembergers. 
The  French  and  Bavarians  were  again  routed  with  great  slaugh- 
ter. ]\Iarshal  Tallard,  in  attempting  to  rally  his  troops,  was 
taken  prisoner.  So  admirably  did  IMarlborough  follow  up  his 
triumph  that  the  total  loss  of  the  French,  including  the  killed, 


b  HISTOKT   OF   THE   FOTJE   GEORGES. 

the  wounded,  the  captured,  and  those  -who  were  drowned  beneath 
the  turbulent  "waves  of  the  Danube,  amounted  to  the  prodigious 
number  of  forty  thousand  men.  The  French  lost  also  forty -four 
pieces  of  artillery,  twenty-five  standards,  and  ninety  colors. 
Their  spirit  was  effectually  broken.  Many  battalions,  over- 
whelmed with  despair  and  rage,  burned  their  standards,  buried 
their  arms,  and  fled  in  the  utmost  disorder  to  remote  and  obscure 
portions  of  the  country. 

The  joyful  news  of  this  great  victory,  the  first  pitched  battle 
which  had  been  gained  over  Louis  XIV.  by  his  enemies,  spread 
rapidly  throughout  Europe.  It  created  a  degi*ee  of  enthusiasm 
almost  unequalled  in  modern  times.  Not  even  the  tremendous 
rout  of  the  Turks  at  Vienna  by  the  heroic  John  Sobieski,  in 
1683,  by  which  Christendom  was  saved  from  the  bloody  and 
terrible  supremacy  of  the  Ottoman  power, — thrilled  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  continent  with  an  intenser  rapture  than  did  this  sud- 
den check  upon  the  pernicious  pride  and  ambition  of  the  French 
potentate.  Vast  communities  living  in  far  distant  climes — from 
Scotland  to  Wallachia — kindled  with  sympathetic  joy  at  the 
achievement  of  this  glorious  triumph  over  that  haughty  and  aspir- 
ing monarch.  Long  had  Louis  XIV.  been  feared,  hated,  and 
envied ;  and  these  sentiments  had  been  combined  with  another 
which  rendered  them  still  more  ignominious  and  undendurable, 
— the  sentiment  of  despair,  resulting  from  the  assured  conviction 
that  no  power  on  earth  could  resist  or  control  so  formidable  and 
aggi'essive  a  despot.  But  by  reason  of  this  triumph,  men  re- 
joiced to  know  that,  within  the  brilliant  and  gilded  walls  of  Ver- 
sailles, the  vaunting  spirit  so  long  unused  to  any  emotion  except 
that  of  conscious  and  invincible  superiority,  would  be  compelled 
to  chafe  with  mortification  over  a  defeat  at  once  so  unexpected, 
so  unusual,  and  so  disastrous. 

In  England  the  exultation  produced  by  the  martial  glories  of 
Blenheim  was  unparalleled.  It  was  no  insignificant  honor  that 
English  arms,  English  diplomacy,  and  an  English  general,  had 
been  the  main  cause  of  such  propitious  results.  Envy  for  a  time 
hid  her  malignant  head,  and  all  classes,  from  the  grateful  queen 


INTEODrCTION.  7 

upon  her  throne  down  to  the  lowest  and  humblest  citizen,  united 
in  extolling  the  heroism  and  genius  of  Marlborough  to  the  slcies. 
Parliament  conferred  upon  him,  what  he  valued  still  more  than 
titles  and  honors,  substantial  wealth, — the  extensive  and  valuable 
manor  of  Woodstock,  This  noble  palace  and  estate  had  in  for- 
mer ages  been  the  scene  of  the  gentle  wooings  and  rapturous 
loves  of  Henry  II.  and  the  fair  Rosamond.  Queen  Anne  or- 
dered that  another  and  more  splendid  palace  should  be  con- 
structed on  the  spot,  more  commensurate  with  the  gratitude  of 
the  nation,  and  the  greatness  of  the  recipient's  merits ;  and  that 
the  stately  seat  should  be  known  to  future  times  by  the  then 
historical  name  of  Blenheim.  In  Germany,  Marlborough  was 
created  a  prince  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  and  other  honors 
and  dignities  were  conferred  upon  him  by  the  grateful  nations 
whose  troops  he  had  led  to  victory. 

A  glorious  beginning  had  thus  been  made  in  humbling  the 
formidable  power  of  France  ;  but  it  was  necessary  to  follow  up 
that  beginning  with  the  utmost  energy.  Accordingly  Marlbor- 
ough endeavored,  during  the  campaign  of  1705,  to  carry  on  opera- 
tions in  an  extensive  and  effective  manner ;  but  he  was  con- 
stantly hampered  by  the  backwardness  of  the  English  parlia- 
ment in  voting  the  necessary  supplies,  and  by  the  parsimony 
and  treachery  of  his  continental  allies.  Had  the  triumph  of 
Blenlieim  been  properly  improved  during  the  ensuing  year,  it 
is  probable  that  the  war  might  soon  have  been  ended  by  the 
complete  humiliation  of  Louis.  But  during  this  year  the  con- 
duct of  the  allies  was  extremely  remiss ;  and  at  one  time  it  even 
seemed  not  improbable  that  the  coalition  which  the  long  toils 
and  the  deathless  zeal  of  William  III.  had  cemented,  would  be 
completely  dissolved.  The  unrivalled  abilities  of  Marlborough 
for  negotiation  and  conciliation,  and  his  prodigious  self-command, 
alone  averted  so  disastrous  a  result.  His  utmost  efforts  were 
able  only  to  convert  the  campaign  of  1705  from  one  of  battles 
into  one  of  sieges.  The  fortress  of  Huys  was  attacked  and 
taken.  Villeroi,  the  French  general,  entered  the  field  with  a 
well-appointed  army  of  seventy-five  thousand  men ;   while  the 


8  mSTOKY  OF  THE  FOUH  GEOKGES. 

forces  of  the  allies  under  Marlborough  numbered  but  fifty  thou- 
sand. Villeroi  took  a  strongly  fortified  position  on  the  Meuse, 
stretching  through  Leau  to  Antwerp.  Marlborough,  though 
greatly  inferior  in  numbers  to  his  enemy,  determined  to  attack 
him.  lie  disguised  his  movements  with  such  skill,  that,  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  appeared  before  the  French  lines, 
when  he  was  supposed  to  have  been  at  least  twenty  miles  dis- 
tant. After  a  desperate,  but  desultory  contest,  the  French  re- 
treated, and  took  up  a  new  position  eighteen  miles  in  the  rear. 
They  had  lost  all  their  redoubts  and  artillery,  and  twelve  hun- 
dred prisoners.  Their  new  position  was  protected  from  an  attack 
by  the  overhanging  batteries  and  immense  fortifications  of  the 
city  of  Louvain. 

During  the  winter  which  ensued  after  the  second  campaign 
in  the  Low  Countries,  the  British  sovereign,  court,  and  people 
were  chiefly  interested  in  preparations  for  recommencing  the 
conflict  in  the  ensuing  year  with  greater  energy  and  effectiveness. 
It  was  also  a  duty  of  great  importance  and  difficulty  to  arouse  the 
enthusiasm  and  retain  the  assistance  of  those  several  continental 
governments  who  were  parties  to  the  coalition  against  France.  In 
this  work  the  abilities  of  Marlborough  were  of  essential  service, 
and  they  assume  an  historical  prominence  which  no  other  statesman 
or  soldier  of  the  time  could  boast.  He  visited  the  allies  in  person 
during  the  winter,  and  succeeded  in  reanimating  their  enthusiasm, 
their  hatred  to  France,  and  their  determination  to  persist  in  en- 
deavoring to  humble  the  power  and  pride  of  the  common  foe. 

The  third  campaign  of  the  War  of  the  Succession  now- 
opened.  Both  parties  had  determined  again  to  try  the  issue  of 
a  great  battle.  The  French  selected  a  strong  position  on  an 
elevated  and  extensive  plateau  at  Ramillies,  in  the  province  of 
Bx-abant.  The  descent  from  this  plateau  was  abrupt,  and  it  was 
surrounded  by  several  streams  and  deep  marshes.  The  heights 
were  skilfully  defended  by  a  numerous  array  of  artillery.  On 
the  right  of  the  French  position  a  high  mound  of  singular  ap- 
pearance and  mysterious  character,  reared  its  time-worn  sum- 
mit ;  it  bore  the  marks  of  great  antiquity,  and  carried  the  mind 


INTKODUCTION.  9 

of  the  observer  back  to  generations  of  rude  Teutonic  races  long 
since  crumbled  into  dust.  It  was  the  tomb  of  the  ancient  Ger- 
man hero  Ottomond  ;  and  around  that  mouldering  relic  of  a  past 
and  forgotten  age,  one  of  the  fiercest  and  bloodiest  struggles  of 
modei-n  times  was  destined  to  take  place. 

The  allied  generals  formed  their  plan  of  attack  with  consum- 
mate skill.  To  deceive  Marshal  Villeroi  as  to  their  real  inten- 
tion, they  pretended  to  assail  the  extreme  left  of  the  French  at 
Anderkirch.  To  meet  this  unexpected  movement  Villeroi  de- 
tached a  large  body  of  troops  from  his  right  and  centre.  This 
was  what  Marlborough  had  desired.  He  instantiv  becran  a 
furious  assault  upon  the  portion  of  the  French  lines  thus  weak- 
ened. The  artillery  of  the  latter  produced  tremendous  havoc 
among  their  foes ;  yet  the  resistless  ardor  and  steadiness  of  the 
allies  soon  drove  the  French  from  their  position.  The  skill  of 
the  veteran  Villeroi  was  exerted  to  the  utmost  to  retrieve  the 
consequences  of  the  error  into  which  he  had  been  trapped  ;  but 
in  vain.  Fresh  troops  were  constantly  ordered  up  by  the  com- 
manders on  both  sides,  and  the  earth  shook  beneath  the  repeated 
charges,  as  wave  after  wave  of  that  living  and  furious  flood  met, 
recoiled,  and  rebounded  again  over  the  ensanguined  scene. 
Around  the  tumulus  of  old  heroic  Ottomond,  the  deadliest 
combats  took  place.  The  blood  flowed  in  torrents  through  the 
streets  of  the  village  of  Eamiliics.  Marlborough  was  himself 
very  nearly  taken  prisoner.  But  at  length  his  superior  skill  and 
courage  prevailed.  In  vain  did  Villeroi  endeavor  again  and 
again  to  rally  his  broken  squadrons.  His  troops  gradually  gave 
way  along  the  whole  line  of  battle.  After  a  contest  of  three 
hours  the  rout  became  general,  and  the  French  army  fled  in  dis- 
order toward  Louvain. 

This  celebrated  battle  took  place  on  the  20th  of  May,  1706, 
and  the  trophies  of  the  victory  were  immense.  The  French  lost 
in  killed  and  wounded,  seven  thousand  men.  Six  thousand  pris- 
oners were  taken.  They  lost  the  whole  of  their  artillery  and 
baggage,  and  eighty  standards.  The  Princes  de  Rohan  and  De 
Soubise,  and  a  son  of  Marshal  Tallard,  were  among  the  captives. 
1* 


10  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

The  allies  lost  three  thousand  six  hundred  men  in  killed  and 
"wounded .  The  results  of  the  triumph  were  in  the  highest  degree 
important ;  for  Marlborough  knew  better  than  any  general  how 
to  profit  by  success,  and  how  to  consummate  the  evils  of  a  foe's 
defeat.  The  whole  of  Austrian  Flanders  immediately  passed 
into  the  possession  of  the  allies.  Brussels,  Louvain,  Mechlin, 
Ghent,  and  Bruges,  at  once  opened  their  gates  to  the  conquerors. 
The  joy  which  this  victory  excited  in  England  was  equal  to  that 
occasioned  by  the  triumph  of  Blenheim.  This  feeling  was  height- 
ened by  the  subsequent  capture  of  Ostend,  Antwerp,  Menin, 
Dendermonde,  and  Ath.  Both  houses  of  Parliament  voted  Marl- 
borough the  nation's  thanks  ;  and  gratitude  more  substantial,  and 
therefore  more  acceptable  to  the  hero,  was  bestowed  on  him  in 
the  shape  of  an  annuity  of  five  thousand  pounds,  and  the  perpet- 
uation of  his  peerage  to  his  descendants  forever.  The  generous 
queen,  in  her  doting  affection  for  her  beloved  "  Mrs.  Freeman,"  the 
wife  of  the  conqueror,  declared  that  the  liberality  of  parliament  was 
unequal  to  the  deserts  of  so  great  a  hero,  and  she  wrote  with  her 
royal  hand  as  follows :  "  I  desire  my  dear  Mrs.  Freeman  and 
Mr.  Freeman,  to  be  so  kind  as  to  accept  of  two  thousand  pounds 
per  year  out  of  the  privy  purse  beside  the  grant  of  the  five  thou- 
sand (by  j)arliament);  and  I  beg  that  Mrs.  Freeman  would  never 
in  any  way  give  me  an  answer  to  this,  only  comply  with  the 
desires  of  your  poor,  unfortunate,  faithful  Mrs.  Morley  (the  queen), 
that  loves  you  most  tenderly,  and  is  with  the  sincerest  passion 
imaginable  yours." 

The  campaign  of  1707  passed  away  without  the  occurrence 
of  any  great  battle  such  as  had  illustrated  the  preceding  years. 
Meanwhile  strange  revolutions  were  taking  place  in  the  court  of 
Queen  Anne.  The  nation  had  been  governed  by  means  of  the 
intimate  and  sisterly  friendship  which  had  during  so  many  years 
united  the  yielding  nature  of  the  queen  to  the  domineering  and 
arrogant  "  Viceroy  Sarah,"  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough.  That 
friendship  now  began  to  cool.  The  duchess  rendered  her  do- 
minion over  her  royal  friend  too  absolute  to  be  borne,  even  by  a 
disposition  so  pliable  and  tender  as  that  of  Aime.     Yet  it  is 


INTKODUCTION.  11 

doubtful  whether  the  queen  •would  ever  have  had  the  courage  to 
break  her  chains,  had  she  not  been  encouraged  so  to  do  by  the 
influence  of  another  more  congenial  favorite  and  mistress,  Mrs, 
Masham,  who,  at  this  period,  began  to  acquire  an  absolute 
influence  over  her  mind.  Mrs.  Masham  was  a  distant  and 
impoverished  relative  of  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough.  She 
had  been  introduced  into  the  court,  while  yet  unmarried,  and 
bearing  the  name  of  Abigail  Hill.  Her  position  at  first  was  a 
very  subordinate  one ;  but  she  possessed  great  artifice  and  talent 
for  intrigue.  She  very  soon  began  to  gain  the  confidence  of  her 
royal  mistress,  and  finally  succeeded  entirely  in  ejecting  the  arro- 
gant duchess  from  her  place  in  the  confidence  and  affection  of  the 
queen,  and  occupying  it  herself.  The  sagacious  Sarah  soon  per- 
ceived her  waning  consequence  in  the  palace,  and  in  the  mind  of 
the  queen ;  nor  was  she  very  slow  in  discovering  that  she  owed 
the  ruin  of  her  political  and  personal  influence  to  the  artful  and 
ambitious  intrigues  of  the  very  woman  whom  she  had  herself 
befriended,  and  introduced  to  the  charitable  patronage  of  the  sov- 
ereign. Many  successive  altercations  took  place  between  the  for 
mer  "  Mrs.  Freeman "  and  the  former  "  Mrs.  Morley,"  which 
always  terminated  in  a  greater  alienation  between  the  parties. 
At  length,  the  breach  between  the  former  friends  and  lovers 
became  irreparable,  and  their  personal  intercourse  terminated, 
A  new  power  had  arisen  behind  the  throne,  greater  than  the 
throne  itself;  and  upon  the  head  of  the  successful  aspirant,  the 
wrathful  Duchess  of  Marlborough  poured  the  bitter  floods  of  her 
execration  and  enmity,  until  the  intensity  and  the  publicity  of 
their  mutual  spite,  obtained  for  the  duchess  the  dignity  and  emi- 
nence of  being  the  greatest  and  fiercest  hater  who  ever  lived. 

Though  the  duchess  now  no  longer  ruled  England,  the  supreme 
command  of  the  allied  armies  in  the  campaign  of  1708  was  still, 
as  a  matter  of  necessity,  intrusted  to  her  illustrious  husband. 
Marshal  Vendome,  the  ablest  of  the  French  generals  who 
commanded  during  the"  War  of  the  Succession,  was  now  arrayed 
against  him  ;  and  operations  were  commenced  by  the  French 
with  unusual  vigor.      Vendome  took  Ghent  and  Bruges,     He 


12  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEOKGES. 

was  preparing  to  besiege  Oudenarde,  another  extensive  and  im- 
portant fortress,  when  Marlborough  determined  to  concentrate 
his  forces  at  that  point,  and  risk  the  issue  of  another  general 
engagement.  But  to  attain  this  result,  he  was  compelled  to 
endure  pernicious  delays  and  obstacles  from  the  everlasting  stu- 
pidity and  obstinacy  of  the  Dutch,  which  led  to  vexations  which 
almost  exceeded  the  bounds  of  human  endurance. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  1708,  the  hostile  armies  came  in  sight 
of  each  other.  The  forces  of  the  allies  numbered  eighty  thou- 
sand men,  those  of  the  French  eighty-five  thousand.  The  battle 
took  place  in  the  extensive  plain  which  surrounds  the  walls  of 
Oudenarde.  In  the  early  portions  of  the  conflict  French  impetu- 
osity and  gallantry  achieved,  as  usual,  some  signal  advantages. 
But  soon  these  were  retrieved  by  the  superior  skill  and  energy 
of  Marlborough.  Vendome  exerted  his  utmost  efforts  to  break 
the  hostile  lines  ;  he  descended  from  his  horse,  and  led  his 
columns  to  the  attack  on  foot.  But  all  was  in  vain.  Night  fell 
upon  the  contending  hosts,  at  the  moment  when  victory  decisive- 
ly declared  for  the  allies ;  and  the  thickening  darkness  added  im- 
mensely to  the  confusion  and  massacre  of  the  yielding  French. 
Their  whole  army  was  completely  broken  up  ;  and  had  an  hour 
of  daylight  remained,  the  greater  portion  of  it  would  probably 
have  been  slain  or  taken  captive.  Tlie  victory  was  a  brilliant  and 
effective  one.  The  French  lost  six  thousand  killed  and  wounded, 
nine  thousand  prisoners,  and  a  hundred  standards.  The  allies 
lost  five  thousand  men,  and  their  triumph  was  almost  equal  in 
splendor  and  importance  to  that  of  Blenheim  itself.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  result,  Oudenarde  remained  in  possession  of  the 
allies,  and  the  fortress  and  city  of  Lille,  the  most  valuable 
and  impregnable  in  French  Flanders,  capitulated  after  a  short 
siege.  Ghent  and  Bruges  were  retaken  from  the  French.  At 
the  termination  of  the  campaign,  the  French  had  lost  all  their 
foothold  in  Flanders  ;  their  best  armies  and  most  experienced 
generals  had  been  beaten ;  all  their  fortresses  in  the  theatre  of 
the  war  had  been  captured ;  and  a  series  of  unbroken  disasters 
had  followed  all  their  movements. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

The  haughty  spirit  of  the  once  invincible  despot  of  France 
was  now  humbled,  and  all  Europe  exulted  in  his  profound  abase- 
ment. Never  had  the  fall  of  any  great  tyrant  from  the  pinnacle 
of  power — not  even  the  wreck  of  Napoleon  at  Waterloo — filled 
the  world  with  such  sincere  exultation.  If  the  allies  thus  con 
tinued  to  wrest  province  after  province  and  fortress  after  for- 
tress from  the  grasp  of  Louis,  he  would  soon  have  need  to  fight, 
not  for  glory  and  supremacy,  but  for  his  throne,  his  honor,  and 
his  life.  Early  in  1709,  he  condescended  to  propose  negotiations. 
The  scene  within  the  gorgeous  saloons  of  Versailles  had  been 
strangely  altered  by  the  vicissitudes  of  the  eight  preceding  cam- 
paigns. The  Grand  Monarque  became  gloomy  and  morose,  and 
his  appearance  clearly  proved  that  some  great  grief  secretly  de- 
pressed his  once  elastic  and  soaring  spirit.  In  answer  to  his  pro- 
posal to  treat,  the  allies  made  the  most  ruinous  and  extravagant 
demands.  They  insisted  on  the  restoration  of  the  whole  Spanish 
monarchy,  including  Naples  and  Sicily,  to  the  house  of  Hapsburg  ; 
the  acknowledgment  of  the  title  of  Queen  Anne  to  the  throne 
of  England  to  the  exclusion  of  the  son  of  James  II.,  afterward 
the  Pretender ;  the  immediate  banishment  of  that  prince  from 
France ;  the  destruction  of  the  harbor  of  Dunkirk ;  and  the 
granting  of  an  adequate  barrier  to  Holland  against  the  future 
aggressions  of  France,  by  transferring  to  the  Dutch  the  cities  of 
Ypres,  Lille,  Menin,  Tournay,  Conde,  Valenciennes,  Dender- 
monde,  Ghent,  Namur,  and  Luxemburg. 

When  Louis  XIV.  heard  these  exorbitant  conditions  of 
peace  demanded,  he  burst  forth  in  a  mingled  torrent  of  rage, 
grief,  and  despair.  Greatly  as  he  had  been  reduced,  he  could 
not  endure  so  low  and  so  humiliating  a  degradation.  Knowing 
Marlborough's  insatiable  avarice,  he  sent  a  secret  messenger  to 
him,  offering  a  bribe  of  eighty  thousand  pounds  if  he  would 
use  his  influence  to  secure  Naples  and  Sicily,  or  even  Naples 
without  Sicily,  to  the  French  monarch.  He  also  tendered  Marl- 
borough a  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  pounds  if  he  would  save 
Strasburg,  Dunkirk,  and  Landau  to  France.  But  in  this 
instance  the  prudent  fears  of  Marlborough  strangely  prevailed 


14  HISTORY   OF  THE  FOUR   GEOKGES. 

over  his  avarice,  and  he  refused.  Louis  XIV.  was  driven  to  de- 
spair, and  rather  than  accede  to  the  first  demands  of  the  allies,  he 
resolved  to  try  once  more  the  uncertain  issue  of  battle.  During  the 
ensuing  Avinter  he  summoned  all  the  chivalry  of  his  realm  to  rally 
around  his  throne.  He  tasked  the  utmost  energies  and  resources 
of  the  kingdom.  He  published  a  manifesto,  in  which  he  made  a 
touching  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  his  subjects.  The  proudest 
monarch  on  earth,  in  this  great  crisis  of  his  fate,  presented  the 
edifying  spectacle  of  a  humble  and  importunate  petitioner,  who 
protested  to  his  subjects  that  he  had  abandoned  all  the  dreams 
of  ambition,  and  only  wished  to  save  his  country  from  ruin,  his 
throne  from  dishonor,  and  himself  from  impending  ignominy. 

Nor  were  these  earnest  appeals  made  in  vain.  The  French 
nation  responded  generously  and  effectively  to  the  call  of  their 
sovereign ;  and  when  the  next  campaign  opened.  Marshal  Vil- 
lars  entered  the  field  with  a  well-appointed  armament  of  a  hun- 
dred and  twelve  thousand  men.  It  was  with  the  utmost  difficul- 
ty that  Marlborough  could  persuade  the  allies  to  make  prepara- 
tions in  some  degree  adequate  to  confront  so  numerous  an  army. 
After  putting  forth  prodigious  exertions,  he  succeeded  in  collect- 
ing a  hundred  and  ten  thousand  troops  of  all  arms,  and  many  of 
these  were  raw  and  inexperienced  recruits.  The  first  operation 
of  the  allies  was  the  siege  of  Tournay.  The  citadel  of  this  fortress 
had  been  pronounced  by  the  great  Conde  the  most  perfect  speci- 
men of  the  art  of  fortification  in  Europe.  Its  immense  maga- 
zines were  abundantly  stored,  and  the  works  were  defended  by  a 
numerous  garrison.  But  the  usual  skill  and  good  fortune  of 
Marlborough  prevailed ;  and  after  a  siege  of  eight  weeks,  the 
fortress  capitulated. 

These  were  minor  successes,  and  soon  the  combatants  were 
ready  to  try  the  hazard  of  another  general  engagement.  The 
French  army,  commanded  by  Villars,  had  taken  a  strong  posi- 
tion at  Malplaquet, — a  spot  destined  afterward  to  rival  the  glo- 
ries of  Blenheim  and  Kamillies.  Ninety-five  thousand  men  stood 
actually  under  arms,  around  the  French  standards.  The  allies 
mustered  ninety-three  thousand,  composed  of  a  heterogeneous 


•  INTRODUCTION.  15 

mass  of  contingents  from  the  diflerent  countries  forming  the 
coalition.  Both  parties  were  eager  for  the  conflict ;  both  hoped 
for  victory  ;  and  both  were  determined  to  contest  the  field  with 
the  utmost  fury  and  resolution.  The  consequence  was  that  the 
memorable  heights  of  Malplaquet  witnessed  the  most  sanguinary 
conflict  which  occurred  during  the  war. 

The  battle  began  at  half  past  seven  in  the  morning,  with  a 
furious  cannonade  on  both  sides.  The  allies  then  advanced  and 
expelled  the  French  from  a  portion  of  their  position  before  the 
wood  of  Soisniere  ;  but  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  commanded 
the  left  Aving  of  the  allies,  was  repulsed  with  great  slaughter  by 
Marshal  Bufflers.  So  great  was  the  disaster  that  Marlborough 
hastened  in  person  to  the  scene  of  it,  and  restored  the  battle  by 
calling  up  his  reserves.  To  resist  the  increasing  strength  of  the 
allies  on  the  left,  Marshal  Villars  detached  a  large  portion  of  his 
troops  from  his  centre.  The  quick  eye  of  Marlborough  instantly 
discerned  the  advantage  which  this  error  gave  him,  and  he  or- 
dered Lord  Orkney  to  concentrate  a  powerful  force  upon  the 
centre.  This  skilful  movement,  effected  at  the  critical  moment, 
decided  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  The  centre  of  the  French  was 
broken.  Marshal  Villars  resolutely  led  forward  his  troops  again 
and  again  to  the  attack,  and  continued  his  heroic  exertions  until 
he  was  dangerously  wounded,  and  was  carried  insensible  from 
the  field.  The  scene  had  become  one  of  awful  and  terrific  gran- 
deur. Along  the  whole  line  of  battle,  two  miles  in  extent,  the 
fiery  flood  of  musketry  and  artillery  poured  over  the  tumultuous 
hosts,  while  immense  heaps  of  the  dying  and  the  dead  encum- 
bered the  ground  already  deluged  with  torrents  of  blood.  At 
last  Marlborough  ordered  up  a  grand  battery  of  forty  cannon, 
placed  in  the  centre  of  his  army,  whose  murderous  fires  were 
soon  decisive  of  the  day.  The  French  were  mowed  down  by 
whole  battalions  in  the  centre,  while  their  flanks  were  turned  by 
well-directed  attacks  under  the  Princes  of  Orange  and  Eugene. 
The  French  commenced  a  tumultuous  retreat,  and  so  great  was 
the  confusion  that  they  could  not  be  re-formed  until  they  reached 
Valenciennes,  twelve  miles  from  the  field  of  battle. 


16  HISTOKY   OF  THE   FOTJK   GEOKGES. 

The  results  of  the  conflict  of  Malplaquet  were  of  the  utmost 
importance.  It  not  only  decided  the  fate  of  the  fortress  of  Mons, 
but  the  number  of  the  dead  and  wounded  was  unequalled  during 
the  progress  of  the  war.  The  allies  lost  six  thousand  killed,  ten 
thousand  wounded.  Their  entire  loss  did  not  fall  below  twenty 
thousand,  being  one-fifth  of  their  whole  number.  The  French 
lost  in  killed  and  wounded,  fourteen  thousand  men  ;  but  this 
proportion  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  their  troops  were 
protected  in  a  great  measure  by  the  intrenchments  in  which 
they  were  posted  at  the  commencement  of  the  conflict.  But 
the  moral  effect  of  their  defeat  was  overwhelming.  All  the 
hopes  which  Louis  XIV.  had  entertained,  that  this  last  heroic 
and  desperate  effort  of  his  army  and  people  Avould  assure  a 
tardy,  but  still  an  overwhelming  triumph,  were  disappointed. 
During  the  winter  which  ensued,  negotiations  for  peace  were 
again  resumed  ;  but  the  demands  of  the  Dutch  were  still  so  ex- 
orbitant that  even  Louis,  humbled,  enfeebled,  and  even  terrified 
as  he  had  become,  could  not  so  deeply  abase  himself  as  to  accede 
to  them.  Accordingly,  with  the  spring  of  1710,  hostilities  were 
again  commenced ;  the  fortress  of  Douay  was  besieged  by  the 
allies  and  taken,  though  defended  by  a  strong  garrison,  and 
though  Villars  made  a  diversion  in  their  favor.  Fortress  after 
fortress  fell  beneath  the  attacks  of  the  allies  with  the  most  extra- 
ordinary rapidity  ;  and  when  the  campaign  closed,  the  fortunes 
of  Louis  were  lower,  the  pride  of  the  Dutch  was  higher,  and  the 
real  power  of  Britain  was  greater,  than  they  had  ever  been  at 
any  previous  period. 

It  would  naturally  be  supposed  that"  the  treaty  which  follow- 
ed this  memorable  war,  in  which  the  most  constant  and  invariable 
success  attended  the  arms  of  the  allies  and  the  English,  would 
contain  the  most  humiliating  terms  for  France.  The  fact  was 
widely  different ;  and  the  cause  of  this  singular  anomaly  is  to  be 
found  within  the  precincts  of  the  palace  of  the  pliant  Queen 
Anne.  That  princess  was  then  ruled  by  Mrs.  Masham  as  abso- 
lutely, though  more  amiably,  than  she  had  ever  been  by  the  Duch- 
ess of  Marlborough.     This  lady  had  already  been  dismissed  from 


INTKODUCTION.  17 

all  her  employments  in  the  court.  She  was  no  longer  the  keeper 
of  the  privy  j)urse,  and  no  longer  head  of  the  queen's  household. 
Mrs.  Masham  had  succeeded  to  all  her  offices.  The  able  minis- 
ters who  composed  the  cabinet  of  the  queen — Bolingbroke,  Ilarlcy, 
and  Godolphin — even  brought  forward  against  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough an  accusation  of  fraud  and  peculation  in  the  appropria- 
tion of  the  funds  intended  for  the  support  of  the  war.  On  the  31st 
of  December,  1712,  he  was  dismissed  from  all  his  civil  and  mili- 
tary appointments  ;  and  the  man  who  had  achieved  the  most  to 
exalt  England  to  the  rank  of  the  first  nation  of  Europe,  was  by 
England  consigned  to  obscurity  and  disgrace. 

The  fall  of  Marlborough  was  the  salvation  of  Louis.  The  de- 
liberations on  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  progressing,  when  the 
victor  in  so  many  battles  was  hurled  from  the  pinnacle  of  power 
and  glory.  Louis  now  directed  his  efforts  to  bribe  Mrs.  Ma- 
sham the  ruling  favorite.  He  succeeded  admirably  ;  he  gained 
Mrs.  Masham,  and  Mrs.  Masham  gained  the  queen.  On  the  6th 
of  June,  1712,  the  celebrated  treaty  of  Utrecht  was  signed  by  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  the  belligerent  powers.  England  virtually 
gave  up  all  the  objects  for  which  the  War  of  the  Succession 
had  been  waged.  Louis  XIV.  was  in  ecstasies ;  he  sent  Queen 
Anne,  as  a  token  of  his  affectionate  regard,  a  present  of  six  splen- 
did dresses,  and  five  hundred  bottles  of  wine  !  Tlie  presents 
made  to  Mrs.  Masham,  if  more  valuable,  were  less  notorious. 
Louis  through  her  means  escaped  from  impending  ruin.  The 
great  point  respecting  which  the  war  had  been  waged — whether 
the  vast  dominions  which  belonged  to  the  Spanish  crown  should 
or  should  not  be  the  inheritance  of  the  princes  of  the  Bourbon 
race,  was  completely  abandoned  to  Louis  ;  for  the  allied  powers 
expressly  contracted  that  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  a  Bourbon  prince, 
should  immediately  ascend  the  Spanish  throne.  Never  had  an 
English  sovereign  and  English  diplomatists  enacted  so  disgrace- 
ful, so  imbecile,  and  so  ruinous  a  compact.* 

During  the  remainder  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Amie,  the  Tories 

*  Du  Mont,  Corps  Diplom.,  torn.  VII. 


18  HISTORY   OF  THE  FOUK   GEOEGES. 

ruled  the  nation.  Their  majority  in  both  houses  of  Parliament 
was  overwhelming.  But  the  possession  of  absolute  j^ower  grad- 
ually engendered  bitter  feuds  and  jealousies  between  the  members 
of  the  cabinet,  which  would  have  led  to  new  combinations  and 
new  intrigues,  had  not  the  unexpected  death  of  the  queen,  on  the 
1st  of  August,  1714,  suddenly  put  an  end,  and  that  for  a  long 
succession  of  years,  to  the  pernicious  power  and  supremacy  of  the 
Tory  party.  By  an  act  passed  in  the  preceding  reign  of  William 
III.,  the  succession  of  the  British  crown  was  now  to  be  diverted 
from  the  heads  of  the  illustrious  and  unfortunate  race  of  the 
Stuarts,  to  that  of  the  less  noble  but  more  pliable,  and  therefore 
more  acceptable,  house  of  Hanover. 


PART  I. 

LIFE  AKD  REIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FIRST, 


CHAPTER  I. 

Origin  of  the  House  of  Hanover — History  of  the  Family  of  Zell — Birth  of  George  I. — 
His  Visit  to  England — His  Accession  to  the  Electorate  of  Hanover — His  Marriage — 
Sophia  Dorothea  of  Zell — Her  Attachment  to  Koenigsmark — The  Countess  Von 
Platen — Her  crafty  and  malicious  intrigues — Peculiar  Qualities  of  her  Family — The 
Imprudence  of  Koenigsmark  and  the  Princess  Sophia — They  determine  to  elope — 
Discovery  of  the  Plot — Violent  and  mysterious  Death  of  Koenigsmark — Popular 
Bumora  in  reference  to  his  Fate. 

The  foundations  of  the  modern  house  of  Hanover,  more  properly 
termed  that  of  Brunswick-Lunenberg,  were  laid  amid  the  chaotic 
darkness  and  turbulent  gloom  of  the  eleventh  century.  In  the 
year  1028  Azon  d'Este,  Marquis  of  Tuscany,  an  impoverished 
and  adventurous  nobleman,  entered  the  service  of  Conrad,  Em- 
peror of  Germany.  He  soon  distinguished  himself  in  the  wars 
which  then  raged  in  the  empire ;  and  he  subsequently  had  the 
good  fortune  successfully  to  woo  the  fair  Cunegunda  of  Guelph, 
who,  together  with  her  immense  wealth,  brought  him  the  power 
and  influence  which,  at  that  period,  were  wielded  by  her  illus- 
trious femily. 

The  fruit  of  this  happy  alliance  was  Robert  Guelph,  surnamed 
the  Robust.  This  chivalrous  prince  having  arrived  at  man's 
estate,  obtained  as  his  bride  the  widowed  sister-in-law  of  the 
great  Harold.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Baldwin  de  Lisle,  Count 
of  Flanders ;  and  her  first  husband  was  the  deceased  Duke  of 
Kent.    This  union  obtained  the  approbation  of  Henry  IV.,  Em- 


20  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

peror  of  Germany ;  and  to  prove  his  partiality  for  his  favorites 
he  deprived  Otho,  Duke  of  Saxony,  of  the  possession  of  Bavaria, 
and  conferred  it  upon  Robert  Guelph.  This  munificent  gift  re- 
mained in  the  hands  of  his  descendants,  until  his  great-grandson 
forfeited  it  by  his  rebellion  against  the  Emperor  Frederic  Bar- 
barossa.  Subsequently  by  means  of  the  efficient  intercession 
of  the  brother-in-law  of  the  rebel,  Henry  II.  of  England,  the 
imfortunate  Guelph  was  invested  with  the  Countships  of  Bruns- 
wick and  Lunenberg  by  the  Emperor  Otho  IV.  That  generous 
monarch  in  the  year  1200  elevated  these  domains  to  the  higher 
dignity,  prerogatives,  and  title  of  a  duchy. 

The  Brunswick  princes  having  thus  resumed  their  place 
among  the  petty  potentates  and  nobility  of  the  Teutonic  empire, 
their  provinces  descended  from  one  generation  to  another  in 
quiet  and  orderly  succession ;  and  nothing  either  of  superior 
distinction  or  of  singular  misfortune  occurred  during  several  cen- 
turies to  signalize  their  career,  or  to  render  their  vicissitudes 
worthy  of  special  notice.  The  family  were  united,  separated, 
and  transferred  by  various  marriages  to  the  surrounding  princes, 
at  different  times ;  and  thus  the  several  branches  of  Bruns- 
wick-Wolfenbiittel,  Brunswick-Zell,  Brimswick-Dannenberg  were 
brought  into  existence.  In  the  fifteenth  century  Duke  Bernard 
exchanged  his  Duchy  of  Brunswick  for  that  of  Lunenberg  ;  and 
thus  established  that  particular  branch  from  which  have  descend- 
ed the  present  reigning  family  of  the  British  Empire.* 

The  great-grandfather  of  George  I. — William,  Duke  of  Bruns- 
wick-Lunenberg — had  seven  sons.  These  astute  German  princes 
readily  perceived  that,  if  they  all  contracted  the  responsibilities  of 
marriage,  the  revenues  of  their  province  would  be  utterly  insuffi- 
cient to  meet  the  expenses  which  the  proper  maintenance  of  their 
ducal  dignity  would  entail ;  and  they  adopted  the  prudent  deter- 

*  The  most  reliable  and  minute  details  respecting  the  early  history  of  the 
House  of  Hanover,  both  of  the  portion  of  it  which  was  located  in  Germany,  and 
of  that  which  remained  in  Italy,  are  to  be  found  in  Eccard's  Origines  Gudficaa, 
Murator€8  Anticliita  JEstense,  Halliday's  Annals  of  the  Home  of  Hanover,  and 
Gibbon's  Posthumous  Worhs. 


LIFE  AND  EEIGIT  OF  GEORGE  THE  FIRST.  21 

mination  not  to  form  any  matrimonial  connections,  but  to  draw 
lots  to  determine  which  one  of  their  number  should  inherit  the 
electoral  dignity,  should  subsequently  marry,  and  should  thus 
continue  the  succession.  The  choice  fell  upon  the  sixth  son, 
George,  who  thus  became  the  head  of  the  family,  and  subse- 
quently the  husband  of  Anne  Eleanor,  daughter  of  the  Landgrave 
of  Hesse-Darmstadt.  The  fruit  of  this  union  was  Frederic  Au- 
gustus. In  1658  this  prince  married  Sophia,  the  daughter  of  the 
King  of  Bohemia.  Their  eldest  child,  George  Lewis,  was  he  whose 
foi'tunate  destiny  it  was  to  elevate  this  petty  race  of  German 
princes  in  his  own  person  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  British  realms. 
The  ancestors  of  the  Princess  of  Zell  whom  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Hanover  subsequently  married,  were  fugitives  from  France  at 
the  ignominious  epoch  of  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes 
by  Louis  XIV.  Among  the  many  noble  Protestant  families  who 
then  sought  safety  by  flight  in  a  foreign  land  was  that  of  Alex- 
ander d'Esmiers,  Marquis  d'Olbreuse,  a  native  and  inhabitant  of 
Poictiers.  The  chief  consolation  of  this  person's  exile,  and  the 
most  valuable  wealth  which  he  possessed,  was  his  only  daughter 
Eleanora,  who  accompanied  him.  He  took  refuge  in  Brussels ; 
and  in  the  gay  circles  of  that  capital  the  young  and  fair  Huguenot 
soon  became  celebrated  for  her  unrivalled  beauty,  her  intelli- 
gence, and  her  accomplishments.  She  was  received  into  the  suite 
of  the  fascinating  Duchess  of  Tarento  ;  but  she  excelled  all  her 
associates,  her  rivals,  and  even  her  mistress  in  the  potency  and 
attractiveness  of  her  charms.  Eleanora  subsequently  married 
the  Duke  of  Zell,  by  a  morganatic  arrangement  which  made  her 
his  wife  in  the  eyes  of  the  church,  but  not  in  the  estimation  of 
the  law,  and  which  neither  secured  her  the  privileges  of  his  rank 
nor  the  inheritance  of  his  possessions.  The  first  offspring  of  this 
union  was  Sophia  Dorothea  of  Zell,  who  was  born  in  December 
1666,  and  was  destined  to  a  singular  and  melancholy  fate. 

George  Lewis,  the  comparatively  insignificant  prince  whose 
enviable  fortune  it  became,  to  ascend  from  the  government  of  an 
obscure  province  in  Germany  to  the  throne  of  one  of  the  great- 


22  mSTOKT   OF  THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

est  empires  in  the  -world,  under  the  title  of  George  I. — was  born 
at  the  city  of  Hanover,  on  the  28th  of  May,  1660.  He  was  the 
eldest  son  of  Ernest  Augustus,  Elector  of  Hanover,  and  Sophia 
Stuart,  daughter  of  Frederic,  the  Elector  Palatine,  and  grand- 
daughter of  James  I.  of  England.  The  boyhood  and  youth  of 
the  prince  were  spent,  without  any  peculiarity  of  incident,  at  his 
father's  court.  He  there  received  the  routine  of  instruction 
usually  prevalent  among  princes  of  that  era ;  though  the  pre- 
dominating quality  of  his  training  was  military.  For  this  de- 
partment of  science  he  exhibited  not  only  a  strong  predilection, 
but  also  some  capacity.  When  he  arrived  at  man's  estate,  he 
enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany  against  the 
Turks ;  and  somewhat  distinguished  himself  during  the  three 
campaigns  which  he  made  in  Hungary.  He  also  acquired  celeb- 
rity in  the  war  which  subsequently  raged  between  the  Emperor 
and  the  King  of  France. 

In  1681  the  Crown  Prince  visited  England  as  a  suitor  for 
the  hand  of  the  Princess  Anne.  On  his  way  thither  he  had  an 
interview  with  the  Prince  of  Orange  at  the  Hague ;  confided  to 
him  the  secret  purpose  of  his  journey ;  and  requested  his  good 
offices  in  the  advancement  of  his  suit.  But  no  sooner  had  he 
taken  his  departure  than  William,  who  was  intensely  opposed  to 
the  accomplishment  of  such  a  union,  as  it  would  seriously  inter- 
fere with  his  own  ambitious  designs,  instantly  set  to  work  and 
started  three  separate  yet  cooperative  intrigues  against  the  CrowTi 
Prince.  One  of  these  was  centred  in  London,  another  in  Hano- 
ver, and  the  third  at  Zell.  It  is  not  singular  that  so  profound  a 
statesman,  and  so  crafty  a  tactician  as  William  of  Orange,  should 
easily  defeat  the  purposes  of  so  simple  and  incapable  a  diplo- 
matist as  the  Crown  Prince  of  Hanover. 

On  the  arrival  of  George  in  England,  information  was  con- 
veyed to  King  Charles  II.  that  the  German  Prince,  who  still 
remained  on  board  his  vessel,  was  lying  patiently  in  the  road 
off  Greenwich,  waiting  to  be  invited  to  court.  Apartments  were 
immediately  prepared  for  him  at  Whitehall,  and  a  public  au- 
dience was  granted   him   the  next  day.      When  he  was   in 


LIFE  AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   FIRST.  23 

troduced  to  the  Princess  Anne  he  saluted  her  with  a  kiss ;  to 
perform  which  bold  and  chivalrous  act  he  had  received  the  king's 
permission.  He  spent  four  months  in  England,  and  endeavored 
to  little  or  no  purpose  to  produce  some  tender  impression  on 
the  heart  of  the  princess.  He  was  welcomed  to  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  and  honorary  degrees  were  there  lavished  upon 
him  and  the  chief  members  of  his  suite.  The  father  of  the 
Princess  seemed  to  take  but  little  interest  in  the  matter ;  he 
neither  encouraged  nor  opposed  the  matrimonial  offer  of  the 
Crown  Prince.  But  the  intrigues  and  influence  of  William  of 
Orange  seem  to  have  been  more  efficacious  than  the  indifference 
of  Anne,  or  the  ardent  wooings  of  her  suitor.  George  soon  per- 
ceived that  his  efforts  were  hopeless,  and  was  preparing  to 
abandon  all  further  solicitations,  when  he  was  suddenly  sum- 
moned to  return  to  Hanover.  Two  years  after  his  departure 
Anne  was  married  to  the  Prince  of  Denmark. 

On  the  death  of  his  father  in  1700  the  Crown  Prince  suc- 
ceeded to  the  Electorate  of  Hanover.  In  1701  he  marched  to 
the  assistance  of  the  Duke  of  Holstein  against  the  King  of  Den- 
mark, and  eventually  compelled  the  Danish  troops  to  raise  the 
siege  of  Tonningen.  He  then  joined  the  alliance  which  was  sub- 
sequently formed  against  the  French  monarch,  and  he  induced 
his  relatives,  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Wolfenbiittel,  to  aban- 
don their  connection  with  France.  In  1707  after  the  fflorious 
victory  of  the  allies  at  Blenheim,  the  Elector  of  Hanover  was 
intrusted  with  the  supreme  command  of  the  armies  of  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  ;  and  he  performed  the  duties  of  this  re- 
sponsible and  difficult  post  during  three  successive  campaigns, 
with  no  inconsiderable  degree  of  success  and  distinction.  He 
then  resigned,  in  consequence  of  the  jealousies  and  discords  of 
the  generals  who  were  appointed  to  serve  under  him.  At  the 
peace  of  Rastadt  Louis  XIV.  was  compelled  to  recognize  the 
electoral  dignity  in  the  house  of  Brunswick-Lunenberg,  as  well 
as  the  right  of  the  elector  of  Hanover  to  the  succession  to  the 
British  throne.  That  indisputable  claim  was  based  upon  an  act 
of  the  British  parliament  passed  in  1700,  during  the  latter  part 


24  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUR  GEORGES. 

of  the  reign  of  William  III.  limiting  the  succession  of  the  crown, 
after  the  death  of  Queen  Anne  without  issue,  to  the  electress 
Sophia  of  Hanover,  and  to  the  heirs  of  her  body  who  were  at- 
tached to  the  Protestant  religion.* 

A  considerable^  degree  of  romantic  interest  is  associated  with 
the  early  matrimonial  experiences  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Hano- 
ver. In  1682  he  married  his  cousin  Sophia  Dorothea,  as  already 
narrated.  The  princess  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age  when  this 
unfortunate  union  took  place.  The  lady  was  remarkable  for  her 
vivacious  and  excitable  disposition,  which  she  had  inherited  from 
her  mother ;  as  well  as  for  the  elegance  of  her  manners,  and  the 
beauty  of  her  person.  At  the  diminutive  yet  very  gay  court  of 
Zell,  she  had  been  brought  up  to  habits  of  coquetry,  and  even 
perhaps  of  gallantry.  In  no  respects  was  this  imaginative  and 
fascinating  creature  adapted  to  the  sober,  dull,  and  heavy  prince 
who  had  become  her  husband  ;  and  it  very  soon  became  evident 
that  their  marriage  would  prove  a  very  unhappy,  or  at  least  a 
very  uncongenial  one.  While  the  Crown  Prince  amused  himself 
in  his  palace,  and  more  especially  when  he  was  absent  in  the 
wars,  his  wife  indulged  in  every  species  of  frivolity  and  elegant 
dissipatiou.  In  a  short  time  she  allowed  herself  a  still  more 
inexcusable  degree  of  liberty  ;  for  her  rank,  her  beauty,  her 
accomplishments,  and  her  wit  naturally  rendered  her  the  object 
of  the  amorous  regard  of  several  of  the  most  accomplished  and 
noble  gallants  of  the  day,  who  happened  then  to  reside  at  the 
court  of  Hanover. 

These  suitors  were  not  long  permitted  to  sigh  in  vain  ;  but 
soon  the  preference  of  the  princess  was  fixed  entirely  on  the  ac- 
complished and  agreeable  Count  Philip  von  Koenigsmark,  whose 

*  Sophia  was  a  woman  of  superior  talent,  and  of  great  energy  of  char- 
acter. She  had  the  head  of  a  statesman  and  philosopher  on  the  shoulders  of  a 
beautiful  woman  ;  and  the  passage  of  the  Act  of  Succession  by  the  British  Par- 
liament was  in  a  great  measure  the  result  of  the  long-continued,  skilful,  and 
masterly  intrigues  which,  during  the  progress  of  many  years,  she  carried  on 
with  the  leading  minds  in  the  British  Government.  See  Hannoverische  Hof 
ninter  dem  Knrf.  Ernst  August,  und  der  Kurfurstin  Sophie  ;  von  Dr.  C.  E.  von 
Malortie.    Hanover,  1847. 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FIRST.  25 

remarkable  graces  of  person  were  celebrated  not  only  in  his  ovnx 
day,  but  have  been  commemorated  for  the  wonder  and  praise  of 
succeeding  generations.  This  young  nobleman  was  descended 
from  an  illustrious  and  chivalrous  race.  The  Koenigsmarks  were 
originally  an  ancient  Brandenberg  family.  The  name  was  first 
rendered  celebrated  by  Field-Marshal  John  Christopher  Koenigs- 
mark,  who  commanded  with  great  distinction  under  Gustavus 
Adolphus  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  After  the  termination  of 
that  tremendous  and  sanguinary  contest  by  the  peace  of  West- 
phalia, the  old  field-marshal  was  made  governor  of  Bremen  and 
Verden ;  and  he  died  at  an  advanced  age,  possessed  of  a  great 
name  and  a  princely  estate.  All  his  descendants  were  remark- 
able for  their  extreme  personal  beauty.  His  granddaughter 
Maria  Aurora  von  Koenigsmark  was  one  of  the  most  accom- 
plished and  fliscinating  women  of  her  time ;  was  the  mistress  of 
the  chivalrous  Augustus  King  of  Poland  and  Elector  of  Saxony ; 
and  became  by  him  the  mother  of  the  celebrated  Marshal  Saxe.* 
But  remarkable  as  this  lady  was  for  her  personal  charms  she 
was  surpassed  in  this  respect  by  her  younger  brother  Count 
Philip,  upon  whom  the  wife  of  the  future  King  of  England  be- 
stowed her  ardent  and  impassioned  affections. 

Philip  von  Koenigsmark  was  born  in  1662.  His  mother  was 
the  daughter  of  Count  Wrangel,  the  favorite  general  and  noblest 
courtier  of  the  Swedish  hero.  His  father  was  an  officer  in  the 
Dutch  service,  who,  after  becoming  distinguished  for  his  military 
talents,  was  killed  at  the  siege  of  Bonn  in  1673.    Philip  had  been 

*  After  the  connection  which  existed  between  Aurora  Koenigsmark  and  Au- 
gustus ceased,  she  retired  to  the  Protestant  Abbey  of  Quedlinburg,  in  Lower 
Saxony,  and  there  spent  the  latter  portion  of  her  life  in  religious  exercises,  and 
in  literary  pursuits.  She  wrote  many  "  Meditations"  which  are  remarkable  for 
their  intellectual  and  spiritual  excellence.  She  became  eventually  the  abbess 
of  the  institution,  and  under  her  auspices  it  acquired  a  widely-spread  celebrity. 
It  existed  till  1802,  when  it  was  suppressed.  It  is  asserted  on  good  authority 
that  when  this  roj'al  brute,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  died,  he  left  behind  him  a 
congregation  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-two  illegitimate  children,  whose  mothers 
belonged  to  every  rank  and  situation  in  life ;  for  none  of  whom  or  their  offspring 
had  he  made  the  least  provision.  Madame  George  Sand  (Dudevant),  the  dis- 
tinguished French  writer,  claims  to  be  a  direct  descendant  of  Marshal  Saxe. 
2 


26  -  mSTOKY   OF  THE  FOTJE  GEOKGES. 

brought  up  at  the  court  of  Zell ;  and  already  in  his  boyhood  had 
been  an  admirer  of  the  young  Princess  Sophia.  Nor  was  his 
passion  even  then  unreturned  ;  but  young  Koenigsmark,  in  com- 
pany -with  his  brother  Charles  John,  was  suddenly  sent  off  to 
England  where  they  resided  for  some  time  at  the  dissolute  court 
of  Charles  II.  While  in  England  both  of  -these  young  men  were 
connected  with  several  scenes  of  violence  and  turbulence,  by 
which  they  became  very  nearly  involved  in  severe  judicial  punish- 
ments. In  1685  the  brothers  returned  to  the  continent.  Charles 
Koenigsmark  was  shortly  afterward  killed,  fightmg  against  the 
Turks  in  the  Morea.  His  brother  Philip,  led  by  an  unpropitious 
fate,  returned  to  Hanover,  took  service  under  the  Elector  Ernest 
Augustus,  and  again  resumed  his  habits  of  intimacy  with  the 
Princess  Sophia,  then  the  wife  of  the  Cro^vn  Prince  George.* 

Their  guilty  intercourse  was  destined,  after  a  considerable 
period  of  secret  indulgence,  to  meet  with  a  horrible  and  disas- 
trous termination.  The  lovers  frequently  met ;  nor  was  their 
conduct  controlled  by  much  prudence.f  The  princess  sometimes 
even  visited  Koenigsmark  at  his  hotel.  She  frankly  assured  him 
in  one  of  her  letters,  that  if  he  thought  that  the  fear  of  exposure, 
or  of  losing  her  reputation,  would  prevent  her  from  seeing  him, 
he  did  her  heart  great  injustice  ;  that  his  society  and  his  love  were 
to  her  more  precious  than  her  life !  The  deportment  of  the  lovers 
was  in  accordance  with  such  extravagant  expressions  of  feeling. 
Obtuse  and  indifferent  as  was  the  nature  of  the  Crown  Prince, 
this  connection  did  not  escape  his  own  notice,  and  that  of  the 
vigilant  and  jealous  courtiers.  Among  the  most  malignant  and 
artful  of  the  latter  was  the  Countess  von  Platen ;  a  woman  of 
strong  passions  and  profound  craft,  who  had  herself  made  tender 
advances  to  Koenigsmark,  which  had  been  by  him  repelled.  He 
had  also  added  an  unnecessary  intensity  to  her  hatred,  by  boast- 
ing in  public  both  of  his  intimacy  with  the  princess,  and  of  his 
supreme  contempt  for  Von  Platen.     The  latter  having  heard  of 

*  Vide  ArcMeacon  Coxe's  Life  of  Sir  Eolert  Walpole,  Vol.  I.,  p.  207. 

t  In  one  of  his  impassioned  letters  which  may  be  quoted  as  a  sample  of  the 
rest,  Koenigsmark  writes :  "  Demain  a  dix  Tieures  je  serai  au  rendezvous  y  "  and 
adds  more  ardently,  "  Mon  ange,  &  est  pour  toi  seule  que  je  vive  et  queje  respire." 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOEQE  THE  FIEST.  27 

this  vaunting  impudence,  vowed  to  be  avenged  upon  the  hand- 
some count,  as  well  as  upon  her  more  favored  rival ;  and  she 
set  about  the  task  of  realizing  her  purpose. 

The  intense  enmity  which  the  fiendish  and  perfidious  Coun- 
tess Von  Platen  entertained  toward  the  Crown  Princess  had 
additional  and  less  honorable  causes.  The  latter,  by  her  amia- 
bility and  affectionate  deportment  toward  her  father-in-law,  the  old 
elector,  had  secured  his  good-will,  and  her  praises  were  constantly 
upon  his  tongue.  Von  Platen  was  the  superannuated  mistress 
of  the  venerable  elector ;  and  she  became  fearful  that  she 
might  lose  her  supreme  influence  over  her  ancient  lover,  if  his 
daughter-in-law  secured  so  large  a  share  of  his  affection.  Accord- 
ingly she  infused  into  his  mind  doubts  respecting  the  faithfulness 
of  the  princess  to  her  husband ;  and  retailed  with  exaggerated 
statements  all  she  knew  about  the  intimacy  which  existed  be- 
tween the  princess  and  Koenigsmark.  Nor  did  this  malignant 
wretch  stop  here.  She  threw  her  artful  toils  around  the  Crown 
Prince  himself;  and  supplied  him,  her  own  aged  charms  being 
faded  and  impotent,  with  a  new  mistress  who  was  not  only  her 
relative,  but  her  most  obsequious  tool.  It  was  on  this  occasion 
that  she  introduced  to  his  acquaintance  the  celebrated  "  May- 
pole," the  prodigiously  tall  and  towering  Melusina  von  Schulem- 
berg.  The  most  potent  art  by  which  she  managed  the  prince  was 
flattery  ;  while  to  this  accomplishment  she  added  some  ability  in 
amusing  his  narrow  and  common-place  mind.  The  consequences 
of  these  and  other  influences  which  Von  Platen  skilfully  directed 
was,  that  soon  the  unfortunate  princess  lost  the  affection  and  even 
the  esteem  of  her  husband,  who  at  length  treated  her  with  pos- 
itive rudeness  and  insult.  The  birth  of  a  son  in  1683,  and  of  a 
daughter  in  1684,  produced  no  permanent  improvement  in  their 
relations  ;  and  even  in  the  palace  itself  the  unhappy  princess  was 
compelled  to  encounter  the  bold,  crafty,  and  unblushing  mis- 
tresses of  the  Crown  Prince.* 

But  the  grand  climax  of  Von  Platen's  revenge  both  upon  the 

*  It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  this  family  of  the  Yon  Platens  fur- 
nished mistresses  to  the  princes  of  the  Electoral  House  of  Hanover,  unmter- 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOTJE  GEOEGES. 

princess  and  upon  the  Count  Von  Koenigsmark,  yet  remained  to 
be  achieved ;  and  she  patiently  waited  for  a  favorable  and  pro- 
pitious moment. 

The  imprudent  lovers  themselves  unfortunately  furnished 
their  enemy  with  what  she  most  ardently  desired.  They  had 
adopted  the  desperate  resolution  to  escape  together,  first  to 
Hamburg  and  thence  into  France.  On  the  first  of  July,  1694, 
at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  Koenigsmark  paid  a  secret  visit  to  the 
princess  in  her  apartment  in  the  palace,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
the  last  arrangements  previous  to  their  flight.  He  was  disguised 
on  this  occasion  in  the  simple  attire  of  a  tradesman.  His  ser- 
vants and  carriages  were  then  waiting  for  them  at  the  rear  of 
the  palace  garden,  ready  to  start  instantly  for  Dresden.  All 
these  secret  plans  had  been  detected  by  the  malignant  shrewdness 
and  vigilance  of  the  Countess  Von  Platen ;  and  she  eagerly  seized 
the  opportunity  both  to  gratify  her  own  vengeance,  and  to  vindi- 
cate the  outraged  honor  of  the  electoral  family.* 

This  last  interview  between  the  lovers  was  protracted  much 
longer  than  propriety  and  prudence  dictated.  Already  had  the 
faithful  female  attendant  of  the  princess,  the  Fraulein  von  Knese- 
beck,  knocked  twice  at  her  door  and  urged  them  to  separate. 
At  length  their  preparations  or  their  dalliance  being  terminated, 
Koenigsmark  left  the  apartment  of  the  princess,  and  traversed  a 
long  corridor  which  led  through  the  palace,  till  he  came  to  a 
small  door  in  the  rear,  which  opened  into  the  garden.  This  door 
he  expected  to  find  as  usual  unlocked ;  but  it  was  at  that  time 
bolted.     He  then  returned,  and  passed  along  another  corridor 

ruptedly,  during  the  progress  of  three-quarters  of  a  century.  The  first  countess 
spoken  of  in  the  text  was  the  mistress  of  Ernst  Augustus.  Her  daughter, 
Madame  Kielmansegge,  was  the  mistress  of  his  son  the  Crown  Prince ;  while  the 
same  disgraceful  relation  was  borne  toward  him  by  Kielmansegge's  sister, 
Madame  von  Busche,  and  by  her  niece  the  Countess  Walmoden,  afterward  cre- 
ated the  Countess  of  Yarmouth. 

*  See  Denkwurdigkeiten  der  Grlifin  Maria  Aurora  von  Koenigsmarh  v.nd  der 
Koenigsmarlc8c?i,en  Familie.  rvach  uhisher  unlekannten  Quellen.  Von  Dr.  Fi'ied- 
erich  Cranur.  2  B'dnde,  Svo,  Leipzig,  1836.  This  interesting  and  valuable  work 
contains  the  most  complete  information  which  is  accessible  in  reference  to  the 
celebrated  and  really  remarkable  family  of  the  Koenigsmarks. 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FERST.  29 

till  he  came  to  an  ante-room  which  was  built  over  the  court- 
chapel,  in  which  there  was  an  immense  chimney  constructed  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  the  smoke  from  the  apparatus  which 
heated  the  chapel.  In  this  dark  recess  four  armed  halberdiers 
had  been  stationed  by  the  command  of  the  prince,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Von  Platen ;  and  when  the  unsuspecting  Kocnigsmark 
approached  them,  thoughtlessly  humming  a  tune,  he  Avas  sud- 
denly and  furiously  attacked.  He  drew  his  sword  and  defended 
himself  bravely  for  some  time ;  but  being  overpowered  by  su- 
perior numbers  he  was  mortally  wounded.  He  was  immediately 
dragged  into  an  adjoining  apartment,  where  his  deadly  enemy  the 
countess  awaited  him.  As  soon  as  Kocnigsmark  beheld  her,  he 
collected  his  remaining  strength,  and  overwhelmed  her  with 
curses.  To  these  the  indignant  woman  responded  by  stamping 
fiercely  with  her  feet  upon  that  bleeding  face  whose  handsome 
features  she  had  once  so  ardently  admired.  Before  life  was 
entirely  extinct,  the  body  was  hurried  into  a  small  cellar,  which 
could  be  filled  with  water  by  means  of  a  pipe.  There  the  un- 
happ3^  count  was  drowned ;  and  the  next  morning  his  remains 
were  buried  in  an  oven  in  the  vaults  of  the  palace,  which  was 
afterward  securely  walled  up.  Such  was  the  sad  termination  of 
the  brilliant  career  of  one  of  the  most  gallant  and  accomplished 
courtiers  of  his  time.* 

*  The  authority  from  which  these  horrible  details  respecting  the  fate  of  Philip 
von  Koenigsmark  are  derived,  is  a  recent  erudite  and  reliable  work  entitled, 
Geschichte  der  Hofe  des  Uavses  Braunschweig  in  Deutschland  und  England,  -von 
Dr.  Edward  VeJise.  4  Biinde,  Hamburg,  1853.  It  is  true  that  several  different 
versions  have  been  given  of  the  mode  of  Koenigsmark' s  death,  which  vary  very 
considerably.  Thus  Horace  Walpole  asserts,  in  one  of  his  letters,  that  the 
count  was  strangled  in  the  princess's  dressing-room ;  that  his  body  was  buried 
under  the  floor  of  that  apartment ;  and  that  when  George  II.  subsequently  visited 
Eanover,  his  remains  were  found  in  consequence  of  some  alterations  which  were 
made  in  the  electoral  palace.  Either  version  is  sufficiently  horrible ;  and  all  ac- 
counts agree  harmoniously  on  one  point,  that  the  fiendish  malice  of  the  Countess 
von  Plateu  was  the  cause  both  of  the  murder  of  Koenigsmark  and  the  disgrace 
and  misery  of  the  young  princess.  But  the  narrative  given  by  "Walpole  is  the  more 
improbable  from  the  fact  that,  had  it  been  true,  the  princess  would  have  been 
able  to  ascertain  the  mode  of  her  lover's  death,  as  well  as  the  place  where  his 
remains  had  been  deposited ;  and  she  would  have  communicated  her  information 
to  Aurora  at  Dresden,  through  whom  it  would  have  become  immediately  and 
universally  known. 


CHAPTEE   II. 

Imprisonment  of  the  Cro\ra  Princess — Her  formal  separation  from  her  Husband — Evi- 
dences of  her  Guilt — Her  mode  of  life  at  Ahlden — Her  Memoirs — Accession  of  her 
Husband  to  the  British  Throne — His  indifference  on  the  subject — His  arrival  in 
England — State  of  Parties  at  that  time— Doctrines  of  the  "Whigs  and  Tories — The 
Government  in  the  hands  of  the  "Whigs — Coronation  of  George  I. — Proceedings  in 
Parliament— Violence  of  Parties — The  Pwoyal  Mistresses — First  Visit  of  George  I.  to 
Hanover — Hostility  between  the  King  and  Heir  Apparent. 

The  sudden  and  mysterious  disappearance  of  Koenigsmark  ex- 
cited much  astonishment  in  Hanover.  The  most  extraordinary 
reports  became  prevalent  respecting  it.  His  sister,  the  Countess 
Aurora,  induced  her  royal  lover  Augustus  of  Saxony  to  institute 
the  most  rigorous  researches  into  his  fate.  To  a  direct  question 
from  her  emissary  on  the  subject,  the  Elector  of  Hanover  rudely 
replied  that  he  was  not  her  brother's  keeper.  At  length  the 
Court  of  Dresden  succeeded  by  dint  of  heavy  bribes  in  discov- 
ering the  fate  of  the  count,  as  narrated  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
The  Cro"wn  Princess  Sophia,  as  soon  as  she  learned  the  terrible 
details  abandoned  herself  to  the  most  intense  paroxysms  of  indig- 
nation and  grief.  She  declared  her  determination  to  live  no 
longer  among  such  bloodthirsty  murderers  and  assassins.  She 
even  attempted  to  destroy  herself.  Her  violent  conduct,  and  the 
fierce  reproaches  "which  she  hurled  at  her  husband  and  her  father- 
in-law,  widened  the  unfriendly  breach  which  already  existed  be- 
tween them  ;  and  the  scandal  of  this  family  cjuarrel  became  noto- 
rious. Proceedings  were  then  instituted  for  a  separation,  and 
the  princess  was  ultimately  condemned  to  imprisonment  for  life. 
She  solemnly  denied  her  guilt  under  oath,  as  did  also  her  lady- 
in-waiting  ;  but  the  recent  publication  of  the  confidential  letters 


LITE  AND  EEIGN  OP  GEOEGE  THE  FIRST.  31 

of  the  lovers  clearly  proves  the  falsehood  of  their  asseverations  of 
innocence.*  The  formal  separation  between  the  Crown  Prince 
and  his  Avife  took  place  in  Hanover  on  the  28th  of  October, 
1694.  The  latter  was  at  that  time  twenty-eight  years  of  age. 
She  was  immediately  conveyed  to  the  fortress  of  Ahlden,  situated 
a  few  miles  from  Zell,  in  the  territory  of  her  father.  There  she 
was  at  first  closely  confined,  though  she  was  allowed  every  com- 
fort and  luxury  which  she  desired.f 

The  faithful  friend  and  confidant  of  the  princess,  the  Fraulein 
von  Knesebeck,  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Schwartzfels,  in 
the  Ilartz  mountains.  After  a  captivity  of  some  years  this  lady 
succeeded  in  making  her  escape.  She  was  let  down  from  the 
window  of  her  apartment  by  means  of  a  rope,  by  an  ancient  and 
devoted  servant  who  had  obtained  access  to  her.  She  fled  first 
to  Wolfenbiittel,  and  thence  to  Berlin,  where  she  was  received 
into  the  service  of  the  Queen  of  Prussia,  the  daughter  of  her  mis- 
tress. The  imprisonment  of  the  Princess  Sophia  continued  dur- 
ing the  long  period  of  thirty-two  years.  Her  revenues  were 
considerable ;  and  she  spent  them  in  the  maintenance  of  a  select 
and  agreeable  circle  of  friends  around  her,  consisting  of  several 
gentlemen  and  ladies.  The  commandant  of  the  fortress  dined 
with  her  regularly  every  day.  She  employed  and  amused  her- 
self chiefly  with  the  management  of  her  estates,  with  needle- 
work, with  reading,  and  with  the  society  of  her  chosen  associates. 

*  These  letters,  after  the  lapse  of  a  century  and  a  half,  were  published  by 
Professor  Palmblad  in  Upsala,  Sweden,  in  1847.  Their  genuineness  is  estab- 
lished by  the  learned  editor  beyond  a  doubt ;  and  with  the  genuineness  of  the 
letters  the  guilt  of  their  authors  becomes  clearly  evident. 

t  She  was  not  allowed  to  enjoy  the  society  of  her  two  children.  Her  son 
George  Augustus,  afterward  George  II.  of  England,  was  then  ten  years  old,  and 
her  daughter,  Sophia  Dorothea,  who  afterward  married  the  Prince  of  Prussia, 
was  two  years  younger.  During  the  infancy  of  these  children  their  mother  had 
always  exhibited  the  utmost  affection  and  solicitude  for  them  which  the  progress 
of  tmie  and  the  influence  of  absence  never  diminished.  In  1710  her  daughter 
was  married  to  Frederic  William,  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia.  In  January,  1712, 
this  lady  gave  birth  to  a  son,  afterward  celebrated  as  Frederic  the  Great.  Her 
husband  proved  to  be  a  greater  brute  and  ruffian  than  her  father,  and  rendered 
her  whole  life  a  succession  of  anxieties  and  miseries. 


32  mSTOET  OF  THE  FOUE  GEOKGES. 

She  was  allowed  to  drive  out  occasionally  from  the  fortress,  at- 
tended by  an  escort.  When  the  elector  ascended  the  throne  of 
England  as  George  I.  a  proposition  was  made  to  her  by  a  com- 
mission of  learned  jurists,  to  accept  her  liberty  and  accompany 
him.  To  this  offer  she  replied  with  great  spirit  and  with  some 
truth,  that  if  she  were  guilty  of  the  crimes  with  which  she  had 
been  charged,  she  was  unworthy  to  share  her  husband's  throne, 
and  if  she  were  innocent  he  was  undeserving  of  her  society,  and 
even  of  her  friendship  j  therefore  in  either  case  she  would  remain 
at  Ahlden.  Some  years  later  however,  the  princess  changed  her 
mind,  and  endeavored  to  make  her  escape  from  the  fortress. 
She  gave  a  certain  Count  de  Bar  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
florins  to  aid  her  in  her  flight.  This  vile  wretch  having  obtained 
possession  of  the  bribe  betrayed  her ;  and  the  baseness  of  this 
treason,  together  with  the  consequent  exposure  and  mortification, 
disturbed  her  repose  for  the  remainder  of  her  life. 

During  her  imprisonment  the  Princess  Sophia  Dorothea 
wrote  her  personal  memoirs.*  This  work  commenced  with  the 
return  of  Philip  von  Koenigsmark  to  Hanover  in  1685,  and  con- 
tinued until  the  last  illness  of  the  authoress  in  the  castle  of 
Ahlden.  The  purpose  of  this  production  was  to  vindicate  the  in- 
nocence of  the  princess  ;  but  no  effort  of  specious  ingenuity  nor 
of  plausible  reasoning  has  ever  been  able  to  purify  her  tarnished 
fame,  or  convince  mankind  that  she  was  an  injured  and  a  blame- 
less woman.  Yet  it  must  be  admitted  in  justice  to  the  princess, 
that  her  conduct  was  in  no  respect  worse  than  that  of  her  hus- 
band ;  that  he  gave  her  the  first  example  of  infidelity  and  licen- 
tiousness ;  that  he  had  not  only  one  acknowledged  paramour  but 
many ;  and  that,  whatever  might  be  the  abstract  demands  of 
morality  and  religion  in  the  premises,  he  at  least  had  no  right  to 

*  This  production  was  entitled  :  Precis  de  mon  Degfin  et  de  ma  Prison.  A 
German  edition  of  the  work  appeared  at  Hamburg  in  1840,  and  an  English  version 
in  1S45,  under  the  title — A  short  Account  of  My  Fate  and  My  Prison.  The  lat- 
ter contains  also  a  narrative  written  by  Fraulcin  von  Knesebeck  addressed  to 
the  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia,  one  of  the  daughters  of  her  unfortunate  mis- 
tress. The  second  volume  contains  the  "  Diary  of  Conversations"  of  the  talented 
and  accomplished  prisoner  of  Ahlden. 


LITE  AKD  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FIRST.  33 

demand  a  higher  degree  of  virtue  from  his  wife  than  that  which 
he  himself  displayed. 

Had  the  mother  of  the  Elector  George,  the  Electress 
Sophia  Stuart,  survived  but  two  months  longer  she  would  have 
inherited  the  English  crown  ;  for  Queen  Anne  died  on  the  12th 
of  August,  1714,  and  the  Electress  on  the  8th  of  June  previous. 
The  latter  had  reached  the  great  age  of  eighty-six.  On  the  even- 
ing of  the  day  of  her  death  she  walked  as  was  her  custom  with 
her  son  in  the  garden  of  her  palace  at  Herrenhausen  ;  a  shower 
of  rain  came  on  suddenly,  and  to  escape  it  she  ran  into  the 
palace.  The  moment  she  entered  she  fell  to  the  floor  in  an 
apoplectic  fit,  and  soon  expired.  She  had  earnestly  yet  vainly 
desired  to  obtain  the  honor  of  having  inscribed  upon  her  tomb 
the  sounding  title :  "  Sophia  Queen  of  England,"  for  premature 
death  anticipated  her  ambitious  wish. 

Immediately  after  the  demise  of  Queen  Anne  the  British 
privy-council  met,  and  three  instruments  were  produced  which 
had  been  executed  by  the  Elector.  By  these  he  appointed  several 
of  his  most  devoted  adherents  to  be  added  as  lord-justices  to  the 
seven  great  officers  of  the  kingdom.  Orders  were  then  issued 
for  proclaiming  the  Elector  of  Hanover  King  of  England,  Scot- 
land and  Ireland.  Lord  Clarendon,  the  British  minister  at  the 
court  of  Hanover,  was  the  first  to  carry  to  the  Elector  the  news 
of  his  accession.  The  British  Regency  appointed  the  Earl  of 
Dorset  to  convey  the  official  announcement  of  this  event  to  the 
monarch,  and  to  attend  him  on  his  journey  to  his  new  dominions. 
They  despatched  the  general  officers  in  whom  they  could  confide 
to  their  respective  posts,  and  appointed  the  accomplished  Addi 
son  Secretary  of  State.  To  insult  and  mortify  the  late  ministry 
which  had  been  supreme  during  the  reign  of  Anne,  Lord  Boling- 
broke  was  compelled  to  wait  morning  after  morning  in  the  ante- 
room among  the  servants,  with  his  portfolio  under  his  arm, 
while  persons  selected  for  the  purpose  heaped  indignities  of  all 
sorts  upon  him. 

It  is  evident  that,  when  the  great  and  onerous  dignity  to 
which  he  had  fallen  heir  stared  George  I.  closely  in  the  face,  he 
2* 


34:  mSTOET  OF  THE  FOUE  GEORGES. 

viewed  it  with  no  very  enthusiastic  sentiments.  He  was  per- 
fectly sensible  of  the  vexations  and  troubles  which  it  would  en- 
tail upon  him.  He  had  arrived  at  the  mature  age  of  fifty-four 
years ;  and  was  much  attached  to  his  native  Hanover,  where  the 
business  of  government  was  a  tranquil  and  easy  task  when  com- 
pared with  the  same  functions  in  the  powerful,  turbulent,  and 
ambitious  realm  to  which  he  was  invited.  He  viewed  his  de- 
parture thither  with  reluctance.  One  evidence  of  this  fact  is  fur- 
nished by  a  letter  written  by  Marshal  Schulenberg  to  Baron 
Steinghaus,*  the  ambassador  at  that  period  of  the  Palatinate  to 
the  Court  of  London,  in  which  he  thus  expresses  himself:  "It  is 
quite  evident  that  George  is  profoundly  indifferent  to  the  result 
of  this  question  of  the  succession.  Nay,  I  would  even  bet  that 
when  it  really  comes  to  the  point,  he  will  be  in  despair  at  having 
to  give  up  his  place  of  residence,  where  he  amuses  himself  with 
trifles,  in  order  to  assume  a  post  of  honor  and  dignity.  He  is 
endowed  with  all  the  qualities  adapted  to  make  him  a  finished 
nobleman,  but  he  wants  all  those  which  are  necessary  to  consti- 
tute a  king."  There  is  no  doubt  that  George  was  conscious  that 
he  would  meet  with  much  trouble  and  annoyance,  in  his  new 
position.  He  went  from  a  small  province  where  the  sovereign 
ruled  with  almost  absolute  authority,  to  a  great  empire  where 
there  were  many  .princes  who  had  been  his  equals  in  point  of 
wealth,  who  might  have  surpassed  his  former  condition  in  every 
element  of  opulence  and  grandeur ;  where  there  were  many  tal- 
ented, resolute  and  unscrupulous  statesmen ;  where  there  were 
several  powerful  and  hostile  parties  ;  where  the  prerogatives  of 
the  crown  were  shorn,  by  the  jealousy  of  the  nation,  of  nearly 
all  their  independence  and  authority  ;  and  where  unfriendly  wits, 
politicians,  and  writers  of  every  grade  of  talent  and  influence, 
were  ready  to  overwhelm  the  heavy  and  awkward  German  in- 
truder into  the  seat  of  their  ancient  Tudors  and  Plantagenets, 
with  continual  floods  of  satire  and  abuse. 

Accordingly,  George  postponed  his  departure  to  England  for 

*  Dated  10th  of  August,  1714,  only  two  days  before  the  death  of  Queen  Anne, 
which  was  then  confidently  expected. 


LITE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FIEST.  35 

a  whole  month.  At  length  the  eager  expectation  of  his  new  sub- 
jects permitted  no  further  delay.  lie  left  his  flxvorite  retreat 
at  Herrenhausen  on  the  11th  of  September,  accompanied  by 
his  son,  and  his  daughter-in-law,  Caroline  of  Anspach.  The  rest 
of  his  family  followed  in  the  succeeding  October.  It  was  a  sin- 
gular circumstance  that  the  Elector  of  Hanover  should  have  been 
chosen  to  ascend  the  vacant  throne  of  England,  while  there  were 
actually  at  that  moment  fifty-four  members  of  reigning  houses 
in  Europe,  all  of  whom  possessed  a  better  title  to  that  throne 
than  he.  But  of  all  those  who  possessed  claims  upon  the  Brit- 
ish crown  by  the  ordinary  and  established  laws  of  regular  or  col- 
lateral succession,  Sophia  Stuart,  the  mother  of  George  I.,  the 
daughter  of  Elizabeth  of  Bohemia,  and  sister  of  Charles  I.,  was 
the  only  one  who  was  attached  to  the  Protestant  religion.  It 
was  in  her  favor,  therefore,  that  the  act  of  Parliament  was  passed 
during  the  reign  of  William  III.  already  referred  to  ;  and  George 
I.  was  wise  or  selfish  enough  not  to  invalidate  his  claim,  or  the 
title  of  his  children,  by  adopting  the  detested  superstition  of 
Rome.*  The  religion,  indeed,  of  the  new  sovereign  of  Britain, 
was  to  him  a  matter  of  small  concern  as  far  as  regarded  his  con- 
science ;  for  he  was  accompanied  to  England  with  an  array  of 
the  most  singular  mistresses  who  ever  disgi-aced  a  monarch. 
Their  peculiarities  and  their  repulsiveness  to  all  other  people, 
very  soon  attracted  the  notice  and  the  ridicule  of  his  new  subjects. 
The  immensely  fat  Countess  of  Keilmansegge  was  nicknamed 
the  "  Elephant."  The  tall  and  slender  Madame  Schulenberg  was 
kno^^^l  as  the  "  May-pole."  Other  titles  were  invented  for  the 
other  royal  favorites  equally  significant ;  and  when  the  king  shut 
himself  up  every  evening  in  their  society,  as  he  was  known  to  do, 
a  fi-esh  deluge  of  caricatures  and  satires  was  issued,  which  flood- 
ed the  streets  of  the  metropolis,  and  furnished  sources  of  merri- 
ment to  millions.f 

*  Another  virtue  which  George  possessed  of  no  inconsiderable  importance  in 
the  eyes  of  the  British  nation,  was  his  bitter  hostility  to  France,  and  his  jealousy 
of  the  vaunting  power  and  grandeur  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth.  This  peculiarity 
had  also  been  one  of  the  chief  recommendations  of  the  Prince  of  Orange. 

t  It  is  now  clearly  ascertained  that  George  I.  was  secretly  married  to  this 


36  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUE  GEOEGES. 

When  George  I.  arrived  in  England,  he  found  himself  the 
elected  sovereign  not  of  a  whole  people,  but  only  of  a  triumphant 
faction.  The  English  nation  were  at  that  period  divided  into 
two  parties  possessing  about  equal  numbers  and  resources,  whose 
political  ardor  and  rancor  were  equally  intense,  and  whose 
mutual  hostility  or  antagonism  was  irreconcilable.  These  par- 
ties were  known  as  Whigs  and  Tories.  The  latter  had  been 
in  power  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  which  had  just  termi- 
nated. The  former  being  the  main  supporters  of  the  Hanoverian 
succession,  obtained  the  chief  control  of  aflfairs  immediately  upon 
the  accession  of  the  Elector.  The  differences  which  divided,  and 
the  opinions  which  characterized  these  two  great  parties  at  this 
crisis,  may  be  thus  briefly  stated  : 

The  Whigs  asserted,  as  their  fundamental  principle,  that  civil 
government  was  an  institution  of  human  origin  and  authority, 
which  accorded  with  the  teachings  of  the  scriptures  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  which  was  essentially  necessary  to  the  happiness  and 
security  of  mankind.  The  prerogatives,  therefore,  which  the 
ruler  possessed,  were  only  a  trust  obtained  from  the  people ; 
and  hence  it  followed  that  the  former  was  directly  responsible 
to  the  latter,  for  the  proper  exercise  of  the  authority  with  which 
he  was  invested,  and  liable,  like  every  one  else  in  a  similar  posi- 
tion, to  be  punished  for  the  neglect  or  abuse  of  his  functions. 
The  Whigs  further  contended,  that  there  were  certain  inalienable 
rights  which  all  men  possessed,  for  the  preservation  of  which 
government  was  alone  established ;  and  that  the  chief  of  these 
was  the  privilege  of  worshipping  God,  not  according  to  pre- 
scribed laws  and  usages,  but  according  to  the  unbiased  dictates 
of  one's  own  conscience.     They  thus  maintained  the  great  princi- 

lady  "  by  the  left  hand ; "  an  arrangement  which  was  frequent  among  the  petty 
princes  of  Germany,  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  passion  without  incurring  the 
disgrace  of  prostitution.  This  fact  is  proved  by  a  letter  from  Etough  to  Dr. 
Birch,  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  which  states  that  the  ceremony  was 
performed  by  the  Archbishop  of  York.  See  Add.  MSS.  Brit.  Mus.,  4326,  £.  Lady 
Mary  Wortley  Montagu  says  respecting  this  lady :  "  She  was  duller  than  the 
King,  and  consequently  did  not  find  out  that  he  was  so."  See  Works  of  Lady 
M.  W.  Montagu,  Lord  Warndife's  M.,  Vol.  I.,j).  210. 


LIFE  AND  REIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  FIE8T.  37 

pie  of  toleration  as  a  matter  of  justice,  and  not  of  charity  or 
favor  ;  and  they  insisted  that  it  was  wrong   to  inflict  civil  dis- 
abilities or  personal  penalties  upon  men  in  consequence  of  a  di- 
,  versity  of  religious  opinions  and  observances. 

All  these  doctrines  the  Tories  rejected  and  condemned  with 
the  utmost  vehemence,  not  only  as  false  in  themselves,  but  as 
being  subversive  of  the  welfare  and  even  the  existence  of  all 
government.  Their  principle  was,  that  government  was  express- 
ly ordained  of  God,  and  that  from  him  alone  princes  and  sover- 
eigns derived  all  their  authority.  To  him  alone,  therefore,  they 
were  responsible  for  the  exercise  of  their  prerogatives.  They 
condemned  all  resistance  to  the  will  of  the  sovereign  as  being 
ipso  facto  resistance  to  the  will  of  God  ;  that  though  when  the 
commands  of  the  ruler  were  directly  in  contradiction  to  the 
commands  of  God,  the  subject  need  not  implicitly  obey  the  for- 
mer ;  yet  it  is  his  duty  to  suffer  passively  all  the  consequences 
which  may  result  from  his  disobedience,  and  full  submission 
to  the  will  of  the  sovereign  was  at  all  times  and  under  all  cir- 
cumstances commendable  and  obligatory.  The  Tories  did  not 
deny,  indeed,  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  sovereign  to  do  his 
utmost  to  promote  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  his  subjects,  as 
being  the  chief  end  and  purpose  of  government ;  but  if  he  neglected 
this  duty,  if  he  sought  only  to  promote  his  own  aggrandizement 
and  security,  if  he  trampled  the  most  precious  rights  of  his  peo- 
ple in  the  dust,  if  he  made  the  machinery  of  government  an  in- 
strument only  of  outrage,  injustice,  and  tyranny,  and  defied  all 
laws  and  obligations,  human  and  divine;  there  was,  as  they  con- 
tended, no  possible  or  allowable  remedy  for  the  evil,  except  pas- 
sive obedience,  humble  remonstrance,  and  earnest  supplication. 
They  further  contended  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  subject  to 
believe  in  that  system  of  doctrines,  to  adopt  those  credenda,  and 
to  conform  to  that  mode  of  worship,  which  the  government  au- 
thorized and  enjoined.  They  held  that  the  exercise  of  private 
opinion  in  matters  of  religion,  in  opposition  to  the  combined  au- 
thority of  the  established  church  and  state,  was  both  presumptu- 


38  mSTOET  OF  THE  FOIJE  GEOEGES. 

ous,  dangerous  and  culpable.*  The  Tories  were  the  secret  ad- 
herents of  the  House  of  Stuart ;  they  only  obeyed  the  intruder,  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  as  a  king  de  facto,  and  not  as  a  king  de  jure. 
And  on  the  same  principle  they  submitted  to  the  accession  of  the , 
House  of  Hanover,  as  being  an  unavoidable  necessity  which  they 
did  not  possess  the  power  if  they  had  the  inclination,  to  resist. 

The  Whig  party,  on  the  contrary,  had  been  the  firm  sup- 
porters of  the  House  of  Orange,  and  were  now  the  equally  ardent 
partisans  of  the  House  of  Hanover.  They  regarded  the  title  of 
George  I.  as  clearly  and  legitimately  established  by  the  expressed 
will  of  the  nation.  That  great  and  now  triumphant  party  num- 
bered among  its  adherents  all  the  Dissenters  in  the  kingdom,  of 
every  denomination;  nor  was  this  element  of  influence  and 
strength  by  any  means  an  insignificant  one,  for  the  Dissenters 
possessed  an  immense  amount  of  learning,  wealth,  and  influence 
throughout  the  nation. 

George  I.  landed  at  Greenwich  on  the  18th  of  September, 
1714.  His  public  entry  into  the  city  of  London  took  place  on 
the  20th,  and  was  characterized  by  great  magnificence.  As  far 
as  appearances  went,  he  seemed  to  meet  with  a  joyful  welcome 
from  the  vast  majority  of  his  new  subjects.  Various  circum- 
stances appeared  to  indicate  that  his  accession  was  regarded  by 
the  nation  as  a  propitious  event.  Thus  the  day  before  Queen 
Anne  expired,  a  false  report  became  current  that  she  was  already 
dead.  The  public  funds  immediately  rose  four  per  cent.,  but  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  falsehood  of  the  report  was  known,  they 
fell  again  to  their  former  value.  On  his  entry  into  London,  the 
new  monarch  delivered  a  speech  to  the  municipal  authorities,  in 
which  he  expressed  his  regard  for  the  happiness  of  his  subjects, 
and  his  honest  purpose  to  promote  their  interests  to  the  extent 
of  his   ability.     The   poets   of  the  day,   especially  those  who 

*  Vide  "  Decree  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  passed  in  full  convocation  July 
2lsi,  1683,  and  presented  to  the  King  Charles  II.  on  July  ^ith,  by  tlie  Vice-Chan- 
cellor.  Doctors,  Proctors,  and  Masters  Begent  and  Not-Itegent,  dec.  Oxford,  1683." 
This  decree  condemns  all  the  leading  doctrines  asserted  by  the  Whigs,  and  as- 
cribed to  them  in  the  text. 


\ 

LIFE  AND  EEIGN   OP  GEOEGE  THE  FEKST.  39 

were  attached  to  the  Whig  party,  deluged  the  metropolis  with 
floods  of  jingling  praise  and  congratulation.*  All  the  great  cor- 
porations of  the  three  kingdoms  also  sent  their  addresses  of  con- 
gratulation to  the  king,  whom  they  termed  the  benefactor,  the 
father,  the  saviour  of  his  people. 

But  notwithstanding  these  outward  and  simulated  displays 
of  joy,  the  nation  was  ill  at  ease.  The  mutual  enmities  of  the 
two  great  parties  were  intense  and  implacable.  Personal  abuse 
and  calumny  reached  an  unprecedented  virulence.  The  Toi'ics 
charged  their  opponents  with  being  a  set  of  hypocritical  schis- 
matics and  republicans,  worthy  only  of  the  pillory  and  the  gal- 
lows. The  "VVhigs  retorted  by  throwing  similar  dirt  into  the  faces 
of  the  Tories,  and  characterized  them  as  traitors,  concealed  pa- 
pists, and  rebels.  What  is  most  extraordinary  of  all  is,  that  the 
intensest  party  rage  and  hate  existed  between  the  several  factions 
of  the  established  clergy ;  and  among  the  thousands  who  were 
the  professed  teachers  of  a  religion  whose  cardinal  virtue  is 
charity,  there  were  probably  not  a  score  who  possessed  the 
slightest  spark  of  tliat  quality  themselves.  A  very  large  pro- 
portion of  these  had  never  acknowledged  William  111.,  yet  they 
only  expressed  their  Tory  sentiments  in  so  far  as  they  could 
safely  do  it  without  endangering  their  livuigs.  The  lower  ranks 
of  the  clergy  were  generally  Whigs,  and  maintained  the  more 
liberal  and  tolerant  sentiments  of  that  party  ;  yet  they  hated 
the  Tories  more  intensely  than  they  hated  the  Dissenters.  So 
far  indeed  was  this  detestable  spirit  carried,  that  the  partisan 
newspapers  could  not  even  allude  to  an  accident  which  had  oc- 
curred to  an  opponent,  without  giving  utterance  to  a  sneer  or 

*  Thus  the  Flying  Post  of  the  7th  of  August,  1714,  had  the  following : 
"  Keep  out,  keep  out  Hanover's  line, 
'Tis  only  James  has  right  divine. 
As  Romish  parsons  cant  and  whine ; 
And  sure  we  must  believe  them  ; 
But  if  their  Prince  can't  come  in  peace, 
Their  stock  will  every  day  decrease. 
And  they  will  ne'er  see  Perkin's  face  ; 
I  So  their  false  hopes  deceive  them," 


40  HISTORY  OP  THE  FOUE  GEOEGES. 

a  jest.  Thus  one  of  these  journals  records  that,  "  On  Monday 
last  the  Presbyterian  minister  at  Epsom  broke  his  leg,  which 
was  so  miserably  shattered  that  it  was  cut  off  the  next  day. 
This  is  a  great  token  that  these  pretenders  to  sanctity  do  not 
walk  so  circumspectly  as  they  give  out."*  This  intense  hostility 
was  partly  to  be  ascribed  to  the  influence  which  the  memorable 
case  of  Dr.  Sacheverell  had  exerted,  and  the  conflicts  which  arose 
in  reference  to  his  sermon  preached  in  St.  Paul's  in  November, 
1709,  in  which  he  stigmatized  the  Whig  Lord  Treasurer  Godol- 
phin,  under  the  epithet  Volpone,  as  a  traitor  and  rebel ;  con- 
demned the  revolution  of  1688,  attacked  the  Dissenters  and  the 
"Whigs,  while  his  subsequent  trial  increased  the  existing  partisan 
fury ;  until  at  length  in  December,  the  king  was  compelled  to 
issue  a  proclamation  forbidding  the  clergy  to  treat  of  political 
topics  in  their  sermons. 

The  coronation  of  George  I.  took  place  on  the  20th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1714.  The  popular  enthusiasm  which  was  exhibited  on  the 
occasion  of  this  imposing  ceremony  was  as  great  as  that  which 
marked  the  first  landing  of  the  king.  His  cabinet  consisted,  with 
one  exception,  entirely  of  Whigs.  The  Earl  of  Halifax  was  ap- 
pointed first  Commissioner  of  the  Treasury ;  Lord  Townsend  and 
General  Stanhope  were  nominated  Secretaries  of  State,  with  the 
control  and  direction  of  foreign  affairs  ;  the  Earl  of  Nottingham, 
a  Tory,  was  declared  President  of  the  Council ;  Lord  Cowper 
was  appointed  Lord  Chancellor ;  the  chief  command  of  the 
armies  was  intrusted  to  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  ;  the  Earl  of 
Wharton  received  the  privy  seal ;  and  Sutherland  was  selected  for 
the  viceroyalty  of  Ireland. 

The  first  parliament  which  assembled  under  the  new  regime 
convened  in  March  1715,  and  was  almost  entirely  composed  of 

*  See  the  "Weekly  Packet,  London,  of  November  12th,  1715.  To  this  sarcasm 
retorts  like  the  following  were  administered  to  the  Tories,  speaking  of  the  ve- 
nality, licentiousness  and  greediness  of  many  of  the  High  Church  faction  • 

"  They  swallow  all  up, 
Without  e'en  a  gulp, 
There's  naught  chokes  a  priest  but  a  halter." 


LIFE  AM)  EEIGN  OP  GEOEGE  THE  FIRST.  41 

Whigs.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  legislature  was  to  im- 
peach the  leading  members  of  the  ministry  of  the  late  Queen 
Anne,  on  the  charge  of  high  treason.  Sir  Robert  Walpole  in- 
formed the  house  that  the  papers  found  in  the  office  of  Lord 
Bolingbroke  afforded  ample  grounds  for  such  an  impeachment, 
inasmuch  as  they  proved  his  administration  to  have  been  the 
most  wicked  and  corrupt  that  ever  existed  in  England.  The 
papers  which  referred  to  the  recent  treaty  made  at  Utrecht  with 
France  were  specially  designated  as  being  of  this  character  and 
tendency  ;  and  a  committee  of  twenty-one  persons  was  appointed 
to  report  upon  them,  of  which  committee  Walpole  was  chair- 
man. That  committee  soon  reported ;  the  effect  of  which  Avas 
that  a  motion  was  instantly  made  in  the  house  to  impeach  Lord 
Bolingbroke  of  high  treason.  Lord  Coningsby  exclaimed,  before 
the  motion  was  put :  "  The  chairman  has  impeached  the  hand ; 
I  impeach  the  head. — I  impeach  Robert  Earl  of  Oxford  and  Mor- 
timer of  high  treason."  Subsequently  the  Earl  of  Ormond  was 
included  in  the  act  of  impeachment,  and  both  houses  of  parlia- 
ment, after  a  short  and  feeble  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Tory 
members,  passed  these  impeachments  without  any  difficulty,  and 
almost  without  a  division. 

Immediately  after  the  passage  of  the  act  of  impeachment, 
Bolingbroke  and  Ormond  fled  to  France.  Oxford  remained  to 
stand  his  trial,  was  thrown  into  the  tower,  and  after  a  long  im- 
prisonment, escaped  without  any  further  injury.  Though  none 
of  the  accused  ever  suffered  the  extreme  penalties  of  the  law,  yet 
this  impeacliment  of  the  late  ministry  exerted  a  most  salutary 
influence  in  one  direction  ;  it  taught  and  asserted  the  great  prin- 
ciple that  the  ministers  of  the  crowni  could  be  and  sometimes 
would  be  held  personally  responsible  for  the  acts  of  their  admin- 
istration ;  which  principle  it  was  well  to  hold  ever  afterward  in 
ierrorevi  over  the  heads  of  those  who  occupied  places  of  such  high 
trust  and  importance.  In  default  of  the  personal  appearance  of 
Bolingbroke  and  Ormond  bills  of  attainder  were  passed  against 
them ;  and  their  names  and  armorial  bearings  were  erased  from 
the  rolls  of  the  peerage  by  the  orders  of  the  house. 


42  HISTOKT   OF  THE  FOTJE  GEOEGES. 

Although  the  Whig  party  reigned  with  absolute  authority 
during  the  first  year  after  the  accession  of  George  I.,  they  were 
not  undisturbed  in  the  exercise  of  their  supremacy.  On  the  23d 
of  April,  1715,  the  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  Queen  Anne 
occurred,  and  riots  and  tumultuous  gatherings  disgraced  the  me- 
tropolis. The  mob  patrolled  the  streets  shouting  :  "  God  bless 
the  Queen,  High  Church,  Bolingbroke  and  Sacheverell."  Many 
of  the  meeting-houses  of  the  Dissenters  were  in  danger  of  being 
burned  down.  Other  and  gi'eater  riots  occurred  subsequently 
on  the  occurrence  of  the  birthday  of  the  Duke  of  Ormond.  At 
Oxford  the  Quaker  chapel  was  torn  down  by  the  rabble.  At 
Manchester  all  the  Dissenting  meeting-houses  were  destroyed. 
Gradually  the  spirit  of  disorder  spread  through  Staffordshire, 
Cheshire,  and  various  portions  of  the  kingdom,  till  at  length  it 
became  so  formidable  that  the  well-known  Eiot  Act  was  passed, 
for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  suppression  of  the  existing  tu- 
mults. The  royal  troops  were  busily  employed  in  arresting  and 
punishing  the  malcontents.  Nevertheless  secret  plots  were  grad- 
ually forming  by  the  zealous  Jacobites  throughout  England  for 
the  purpose  of  cooperating  with  the  same  faction  in  Scotland,  to 
effect  the  restoration  of  the  Pretender  ;  though  the  open  and  final 
consummation  of  this  movement  did  not  take  place  until  a  sub- 
sequent period. 

During  this  interval  of  growing  discord  and  confusion,  the 
British  press  exhibited  the  utinost  virulence  and  licentiousness. 
The  two  parties  levelled  against  each  other  every  species  of  offen- 
sive missiles,  arguments,  satire,  caricatures  and  ribaldry.  Songs 
and  ballads  were  more  numerous  and  popular  than  at  any  previous 
period.*     One  of  the  pamphlets  of  this  period  which  attained  a 

*  The  following  may  be  quoted  as  a  specimen  of  this  species  of  choice  liter- 
ature. It  is  entitled  the  "  High  Church  Rebels,"  and  contains  several  additional 
stanzas : 

"  See  how  they  pull  down  meetings, 
To  jjlunder,  rob,  and  steal; 
To  raise  the  mob  in  riots, 
And  teach  them  to  rebel : 

Oh !  to  Tyburn  let  them  go ! " 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  TIIE  FIRST.  43 

wide  celebrity  was  entitled :   "  An  argument  proving  all  the 
Tories  in  Great  Britain  to  be  fools.     Price  fourpence." 

Nor  could  it  reasonably  be  expected  that,  in  the  midst  of  such 
partisan  heats,  the  offensive  personal  peculiarities  of  George  I. 
would  be  overlooked.  They  became  in  fact  the  subject  of  an 
immense  amount  of  bitter  and  not  undeserved  ridicule.  His 
treatment  of  his  wife,  still  a  prisoner  in  the  fortress  of  Ahlden, 
was  severely  animadverted  upon ;  for  it  was  well  known  to  all 
men  that  he  punished  her,  if  she  were  guilty  at  all,  for  the  com- 
mission of  the  very  same  crime  of  which  he  himself  had  been, 
and  was  even  then  still  guilty.  The  evident  injustice  and  incon- 
sistency of  this  conduct  did  not  escape  censure  and  scrutiny. 
The  hostile  mob  of  Tories  satirized  his  personal  qualities,  his 
ignorance  of  the  language  of  his  subjects,  his  heavy  stupidity,  his 
fondness  for  saur-kraut  and  punch,  and  above  all  his  singular 
partiality  for  the  detestably  ugly,  ungraceful,  greedy,  cor- 
pulent, and  repulsive  German  women  whom  he  still  retained 
around  him  as  his  mistresses.  Madame  Keilmansegge  was  de- 
scribed as  being  a  mountain  of  fat,  having  two  acres  of  cheeks, 
which  were  thickly  covered  with  rouge.  The  appalling  height 
of  Madame  Schulemberg  was  described  as  being  the  chief  charm 
which  won  for  her  the  king's  favor,  and  her  promotion  to  the 
dignity  of  the  Duchess  of  Kendall.  The  rapacity  of  this  lady 
was  publicly  dwelt  upon;  and  it  was  asserted  that  Bolingbroke 
had  bribed  her  with  the  gift  of  eleven  thousand  pounds,  to  secure 
from  the  king,  at  the  suitable  period,  the  royal  permission  to  re- 
turn to  England.  Eobert  Walpole's  interviews  with  the  monarch 
were  caricatured  in  various  ways ;  for  it  was  known  that  the 
king  did  not  understand  English ;  that  the  minister  knew  neither 
German  nor  French ;  and  that  their  conversation  was  carried  on 
in  such  Latin  as  would  have  provoked  Tully  and  Quintillian  in  their 
graves,  had  it  been  uttered  near  them.  Madame  Schulemberg  still 
continued  to  grow  in  the  favor  of  the  monarch,  notwithstanding 
the  ridicule  and  censure  heaped  upon  their  connection  ;  for  she 
was  successively  created  Baroness  of  Dundalk,  Countess  of  Dun- 
gaimon,  and  Duchess  of  Munster.     She  seems  to  have  acquired 


44:  HISTOEY  OF  THE  FOTJE  GEOEGES. 

an  absolute  dominion  over  the  feeble  mind  of  her  besotted  lover ; 
and  her  new  accessions  of  rank  and  dignity  called  forth  new 
ebullitions  of  popular  contempt  and  indignation. 

In  June,  1716,  George  I.,  no  doubt  wearied  by  the  everlasting 
strifes  and  jealousies  of  his  new  dominions,  solaced  himself  with 
his  first  journey  to  his  beloved  Hanover.  He  appointed  his 
son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  regent  during  his  absence.  This  prince 
was  a  person  of  the  most  meagre  and  insignificant  capacity,  as 
his  whole  career  abundantly  testified.  He  was  ignorant,  obsti- 
nate and  narrow-minded ;  and  every  quality  of  his  nature  was 
calculated  only  to  excite  contempt.  Nevertheless  during  his 
father's  first  visit  to  Hanover,  he  succeeded  in  winning  no  small 
degree  of  popularity  with  the  nation,  by  adopting  and  executing 
the  prudent  measures  which  the  astute  ministers  suggested  to 
him.  During  the  sojourn  of  George  I.  on  the  continent,  he  refused 
to  see  his  unfortunate  wife ;  and  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  adding 
irritation  to  her  ignominy,  he  enjoyed  the  amusement  of  the 
chase  in  the  vicinity  of  Ahlden,  but  took  no  further  notice  of  her 
existence,  or  of  her  sufferings,  than  to  give  orders  that  a  more 
rigid  surveillance  should  be  thenceforth  exercised  over  her  in  her 
captivity. 

After  the  return  of  George  I.  from  Hanover  the  open  quar- 
rel occurred  between  him  and  the  Prince  of  Wales,  which  con- 
tinued during  the  remainder  of  the  life  of  the  monarch,  and  be- 
came disgracefully  notorious.  The  origin  of  this  dispute  is  said 
by  some  writers  to  have  been  jealousy  of  the  popularity  gained 
by  the  prince  during  the  exercise  of  his  regency.  Whatever 
may  have  been  its  cause,  the  king  banished  his  son  and  heir  from 
his  presence ;  and  went  so  far  as  to  let  it  be  understood  by  the 
court,  that  whoever  visited  the  Prince  or  the  Princess  of  Wales, 
would  fall  under  the  royal  disfavor.  Yet  in  spite  of  this  decla- 
ration, there  were  not  a  few  among  the  most  noble  and  distin- 
guished of  the  courtiers  who  preferred  to  pay  their  devotions 
rather  to  the  sun  which  was  destined  soon  to  rise  in  the  political 
heavens,  than  to  that  which  would  inevitably  descend  beneath  the 
horizon  in  the  lapse  of  a  few  short  years. 


CHAPTEE   III. 

The  Jacobito  Kebellion— The  Pretender  proclaimed  in  Scotland— The  Victory  at  Pres- 
ton—The Septennial  Bill— Furious  Debates  in  Parliament— History  of  the  South 
Sea  Bubble — Its  Unparalleled  Effects — National  frenzy — Universal  Bankruptcy — 
Judicious  measures  adopted  by  Sir  Robert  "Walpole — Peculiar  qualities  of  this  Min- 
ister— Ilis  Personal  and  Political  History — Hia  Eminent  Services  to  the  House  of 
Hanover. 

The  rankling  hostility  which  existed  between  the  Whig  and 
Tory  parties,  and  which  was  nothing  else  in  reality  than  an  antag- 
onism between  the  Houses  of  Hanover  and  Stuart,  eventually 
culminated  in  open  rebellion  against  the  government.  The  first 
outbreak  occurred  in  Scotland.  The  Earl  of  Mar  proclaimed 
the  Pretender,  and  set  up  his  standard  under  the  title  of  King 
James  III.  at  Castletown ;  and  soon  ten  thousand  men  rallied  to 
his  camp.  His  confederates  south  of  the  Tweed  were  unable  to 
render  him  any  effectual  assistance,  in  consequence  of  the  vigi- 
lance and  activity  of  the  government ;  which,  adopting  the  ex- 
treme measure  of  suspending  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  committed 
Lord  Lansdown,  the  Earl  of  Jersey,  Sir  William  Windham,  and 
other  distinguished  Jacobites  to  close  custody.  Tliese  prompt 
measures,  however,  did  not  prevent  the  Earl  of  Derwentwater 
and  Mr.  Foster  from  raising  an  armed  force,  and  proclaiming  the 
Pretender  in  Northumberland  and  Lancastershirc.  But  this 
movement  was  completely  crushed  by  the  victory  of  the  royal 
troops  commanded  by  General  Carpenter,  at  Preston ;  where 
the  insurgents  were  surrounded,  attacked,  vanquished,  and  com- 
pelled to  surrender  at  discretion.  At  the  same  time  the  parti- 
sans of  the  house  of  Stuart,  under  the  Earl  of  Mar,  met  their 
opponents,  commanded  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  at  Dumblane. 


46  inSTOET  OF  THE  FOTTK  GEOEGES. 

A  furious  battle  ensued.  The  right  wing  of  the  king's  army,  led 
on  by  General  Whitham,  was  completely  broken  by  the  pro- 
digious onslaught  of  the  Scotch;  but  a  different  result  was 
achieved  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  who  commanded  the  left  wing 
of  the  royal  troops.  He  drove  the  enemy  about  two  miles 
before  him  ;  and  on  his  return  he  met  the  victorious  party 
which  had  vanquished  General  Whitham,  when  another  conflict 
ensued  in  which  the  advantage  remained  with  the  duke.  The 
rebels  subsequently  lost  the  city  and  castle  of  Inverness ;  their 
forces  were  rapidly  diminished  and  dissipated  ;  great  incapacity 
was  displayed  by  the  rebel  leaders ;  and  the  rebellion  in  both 
kingdoms  was  happily  and  speedily  suppressed.  Lord  Der- 
wentwater  and  other  leaders  of  the  malcontents,  in  spite  of  great 
efforts  made  to  save  them,  were  tried  for  treason,  condemned 
and  executed.  . 

The  suppression  of  external  disturbances  was  followed  by 
intense  discord  in  the  Houses  of  Parliament.  The  famous  Sep- 
tennial Bill  was  introduced,  the  object  of  which  was  to  grant  the 
Legislature  which  was  then  in  existence,  and  which  had  been 
elected  only  for  the  period  of  three  years,  power  to  extend  their 
duration  to  seven  years.  The  proposition,  therefore,  was  in  sub- 
stance that  the  members  should  elect  themselves  for  four  years. 
The  chief  argument  which  was  used  in  support  of  this  singular 
proposition  was,  that  the  disaffection  of  the  people  to  the  govern- 
ment was,  then  so  great,  and  the  enemies  of  the  monarch  were 
then  so  numerous  and  so  powerful  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
that  a  new  election  precisely  at  that  period  might  be  destructive 
to  the  peace  and  even  the  stability  of  the  government.  It  was 
also  added,  and  with  some  show  of  reason,  that  great  and  deplor- 
able evils  constantly  attended  the  frequent  recurrence  of  parlia- 
mentary elections,  in  consequence  of  the  corrupt  and  established 
modes  in  which  those  elections  were  carried  on. 

In  the  House  of  Lords  the  bill  was  opposed  with  great  earnest- 
ness and  ability  by  many  of  the  peers.  The  Earl  of  Nottingham 
especially  distinguished  himself  on  this  occasion.  He  contended 
that  frequent  Parliaments  were  of  the  very  essence,  and  one  of 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN"  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FIRST.  47 

the  greatest  glories  of  the  British  constitution ;  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature  possessed  no  power  thus  to  enlarge  their 
functions,  either  as  to  substance  or  as  to  time ;  and  tliat  if  they 
possessed  the  right  thus  to  extend  their  functions  for  four  years, 
they  possessed  equal  right  to  do  so  for  a  hundred  or  for  five  hun- 
dred years.  In  the  House  of  Commons  the  opposition  to  the  bill 
was  equally  determined.  Protracted  debates  ensued.  Lord  Ray- 
mond, afterward  Chief  Justice  of  England,  delivered  a  speech  of 
unrivalled  power  and  effect  against  it,  and  conclusively  answered 
every  argument  which  had  been  advanced  in  its  support.  These 
he  classified  as  follows  :  1.  The  expenses  attending  frequent  elec- 
tions ;  2.  The  divisions  and  animosities  excited  by  them ; 
3.  The  advantages  derived  by  the  enemies  of  the  country  from 
these  domestic  feuds ;  4.  The  encouragement  which  the  bill,  if 
passed,  would  hold  out  to  the  allies  of  Britain  to  form  new  and 
more  permanent  connections  with  her. 

Notwithstanding  the  opposition  which  the  Septennial  Bill  met 
with  in  the  nation  and  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  it  passed  by 
a  very  large  majority,  and  immediately  received  the  approbation 
of  the  monarch ;  who,  in  his  speech  on  the  occasion,  congratulated 
the  country  upon  the  pleasing  prospect  in  the  future  of  having 
and  enjoying  a  more  settled  government. 

The  bitter  animosities  which  had  prevailed  during  so  many 
years  between  the  two  great  parties  which  divided  the  nation,  as 
well  as  all  other  excitements  and  conflicts,  were  destined,  in  the 
year  1720,  to  give  way  to  one  of  the  most  singular  and  fantasti- 
cal delusions  which  ever  disgraced  and  impoverished  a  people. 
This  was  the  celebrated  South  Sea  Bubble. 

In  1717  a  Scotch  adventurer  named  Law  fled  to  France,  to 
evade  the  consequences  of  a  duel ;  and  there  he  employed  his 
remarkable  financial  abilities  in  projecting  a  company  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  on  trade  with  the  territories  adjacent  to  the 
Mississippi  River.  In  1719  the  French  monarch  incorporated 
the  French  India  and  China  companies,  of  one  of  which  Law 
was  the  president;  giving  them  peculiar  privileges  and  mo- 
nopolies  on  condition  that  they  would  undertake  the  payment 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEGES. 

of  the  State  bills.  There  was  suddenly  an  immense  advance  in 
the  sharefe  of  the  company  ;  and  the  success  of  the  scheme  was 
most  extraordinary.  The  French  Government  was  relieved  of 
all  its  pecuniary  difficulties.  Many  of  the  nobility  and  courtiers 
became  immensely  rich.  Law  rose  so  high  in  the  estimation 
both  of  the  court  and  the  people,  that  he  was  admitted  to  the 
Privy  Council,  and  appointed  comptroller-general  of  the  Finances 
of  France.  The  extraordinary  success  of  this  experiment  sug- 
gested to  the  English  ministry  the  expediency  of  attempting  to 
achieve  the  same  magnificent  results,  by  means  of  an  obscure  and 
languishing  association  which  had  been  established  in  1711, 
termed  the  South  Sea  Company.  They  conceived  the  idea  of 
investing  this  company  with  certain  important  privileges,  and  then 
making  it  agree  to  liquidate  the  national  debt,  which  was  then 
regarded  by  the  British  people  as  an  intolerable  burden.  Aisla- 
bie,  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  Lords  Stanhope  and  Sunder- 
land, and  many  other  leading  statesmen  viewed  the  project  with 
special  favor.  Its  chief  opponent  was  the  sagacious  and  pene- 
trating Sir  Robert  Walpole,  who  in  May,  1715,  had  succeeded  the 
Earl  of  Halifax  as  first  lord  commissioner  of  the  treasury.  At 
the  period  of  which  we  now  speak,  he  was  not  a  member  of  the 
ministry ;  but  he  deservedly  wielded  a  great  influence  in  the 
House  in  consequence  of  his  superior  ability  and  experience. 
The  safer  and  wiser  heads  in  the  Legislature  perceived  the  danger 
which  would  eventually  ensue  from  the  execution  of  the  project. 
But  in  spite  of  all  opposition  the  bill  became  a  law  ;  it  received 
the  royal  sanction  ;  and  the  enterprise  was  heralded  forth  to  the 
world  by  men  in  high  places  as  one  deserving  of  the  utmost  con- 
fidence and  esteem. 

Then  ensued  one  of  the  most  remarkable  spectacles  recor'led 
in  history.  Wearied  with  political  strife  and  party  feuds,  a 
prodigious  reaction  took  place  in  the  public  mind  in  favor  of 
financial  excitement  and  speculation.  The  rage  for  dealing  in 
South  Sea  shares  became  intense  and  universal.  In  a  few  weeks 
the  stock  rose  to  above  a  thousand  per  cent.  It  is  true,  indeed, 
that  the  dealers  and  buyers  knew  very  little  in  reference  to  the 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF^EOKGE   THE  FIKST.  49 

real  resources,  capital,  and  securities  of  the  company  ;  but  they 
engaged  in  the  purchase  and  the  sale  of  stock  because  every 
one  declared  that  such  a  course  would  soon  lead  to  the  posses- 
sion of  immense  wealth,  and  that  millions  were  to  be  won  by 
those  who  boldly  embraced  the  golden  opportunity.  Every  thing 
else  therefore  was  for  the  time  forgotten.  Throughout  the  three 
kingdoms,  but  especially  in  London,  stockjobbing  became  the  sole 
pursuit  of  all  classes  and  parties  ;  of  Whigs  ana  Tories,  of  high- 
church  and  low-church,  of  dissenters  and  freethinkers,  of  the 
noble  and  the  vulgar,  of  the  learned  and  the  ignorant.  All  these 
served  jto  constitute  a  tumultuous,  excited,  and  sanguine  multi- 
tude, whose  whole  existence  seemed  to  be  absorbed  in  the  sin- 
gular delirium  which  had  thrown  its  potent  spell  over  the  public 
mind.  Exchange  Alley  and  Threadneedle  Street,  the  great 
head-quarters  of  the  company,  were  crowded  from  morning  till 
night  by  eager  gamblers  of  every  description  and  condition. 
Elegant  women,  superbly  dressed,  elbowed  their  way  bravely 
through  the  throng  to  attain  the  object  of  their  wishes,  and  possess 
themselves  of  the  inestimable  and  talismanic  scrip.  The  high- 
way in  the  vicinity  was  obstructed  by  the  brilliant  equipages  of 
princes,  dukes,  and  prelates,  adorned  with  illustrious  arms  and 
coronets;  whose  owners  eagerly  joined  the  crowd  and  were  lost 
in  its  tumultuous  current.  Hundreds  invested  all  they  pos- 
sessed in  the  purchase  of  shares.  Others  sold  every  thing  and 
bought  stock  with  the  proceeds.  Some  pledged  rights  in  ex- 
change for  stock,  of  which  they  held  only  the  expectancy  of  a 
future  and  contingent  interest.  Every  conceivable  expedient  was 
adopted  to  raise  money  for  the  purpose  of  investment.  At  the 
same  time,  the  most  artful  and  insidious  methods  were  contrived 
by  the  directors  of  the  company  to  keep  up  the  popular  enthu- 
siasm. Vast  and  gorgeous  visions  of  the  opulence  to  be  derived 
from  the  mines  of  Mexico  and  Peru  through  the  connection  which 
was  alleged  to  exist  between  them  and  the  operations  of  the 
company,  were  depicted  before  the  greedy  and  deluded  eyes  of 
the  nation.  It  was  asserted  that  the  company  possessed  a  cap- 
ital of  a  hundred  and  ten  million  pounds,  together  with  the 
3 


60  HISTOEY   OF   TH|;  FOITR   GEOEGES. 

interest  of  the  national  debt,  which  had  been  transferred  by  gov- 
ernment to  the  control  and  credit  of  the  company  ;  and  they 
opened  four  new  subscriptions,  which  increased  the  amount  of  cap- 
ital, as  was  asserted,  to  the  prodigious  sum  of  two  hundred  and 
ninety-five  million  pounds. 

Nor  did  the  evil  terminate  there.  The  nation  having  once 
become  insane  with  the  mania  for  speculation,  were  not  satisfied 
with  gambling  in  one  way,  but  a  host  of  other  companies  were 
quickly  established  for  the  purpose  of  speculation  in  every  pos- 
sible shape.  In  three  months  the  number  of  these  financial 
bubbles  exceeded  a  hundred,  and  their  aggregate  stock  was  said 
to  amount  to  five  hundred  million  pounds.  They  referred 
to  every  possible  subject,  some  of  them  being  the  most  imprac- 
ticable and  absurd  which  could  be  conceived.  Among  the  list 
were  companies  for  insurmg  the  fortunes  of  minors,  for  securing 
against  thieves  and  robbers,  for  insuring  marriages  against  di- 
vorce, for  obtaining  pensions  for  widows,  for  trading  to  the 
Oronoko,  for  improving  the  breed-  of  horses,  for  founding  Ar- 
cadian colonies,  for  makmg  engines  to  fly  in  the  air,  for  purchas- 
ing lands  in  Pennsylvania,  for  curing  gout  and  stone,  for  in- 
surance against  small-pox,  for  fabricating  air-pumps  for  the 
brain,  for  making  boards  of  sawdust,  and  for  casting  nativities. 
Some  even  went  so  far  as  to  form  a  company  the  very  purposes 
of  which  were  yet  unknown  ;  "  for  an  undertaking  which  shall 
in  due  time  be  revealed."  Instances  were  frequently  kno'mi  in 
which  several  persons  hired  an  office  for  a  single  day,  opened  a 
subscription  book  in  the  morning,  took  a  small  deposit  on  the 
shares,  and  after  night-fall  closed  their  shop,  and  dived  utterly, 
beyond  soundings,  carrying  away  with  them  a  large  sum  of 
money.  The  whole  nation  were  dancmg  in  a  jubilee  of  insane 
hilarity  and  enthusiasm.  Some  persons,  indeed,  who  shrewdly 
sold  out  when  the  stock  was  at  its  maximum,  realized  immense 
fortunes.  A  few  others  connected  with  the  court,  received  large 
bribes  for  their  influence  in  procuring  the  patronage  of  the 
government  in  favor  of  the  South  Sea  Company.  Thus  the 
Countess  of  Kcilmansegge  and  her  daughter,  each  accepted  a 


LITE   A2sT)   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   FIEST.  51 

bribe  of  ten  thousand  pounds  for  this  infamous  purpose.  But 
very  soon  the  fatal  crisis  arrived ;  these  extraordinary  bubbles 
burst ;  and  myriads  vrere  at  once  and  totally  ruined.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  describe  the  amount  of  misery,  poverty,  and 
despair  which  ensued.  In  October,  1720,  scarcely  six  months 
after  the  endorsement  of  the  South  Sea  Company  by  the  royal 
approval,  the  stock  fell  from  eleven  hundred  to  eighty.  Many 
of  those  who  were  thus  suddenly  reduced  to  beggary  from  afflu- 
ence, died  of  broken  hearts.  Many  others  committed  suicide, 
and  a  vast  multitude  of  those  who  had,  during  all  their  lives, 
been  accustomed  to  the  enjoyment  of  affluence  and  consideration, 
unable  to  endure  the  disgrace  of  their  altered  state,  deserted 
their  native  land  to  hide  their  shame  during  the  rest  of  their 
existence  in  the  obscurity  of  foreign  countries. 

As  soon  as  the  popular  mind  began  to  recover  from  the  ter- 
rible shock  which  it  had  received,  indignation  against  the  found- 
ers of  this  gigantic  swindle,  naturally  took  the  place  of  every 
other  feeling.  The  South  Sea  Directors  became  objects  of  uni- 
versal detestation  and  hatred.  They  were  arrested  and  their 
property  confiscated.  Robert  Knight,  the  treasurer  of  the  Com- 
pany, fled  to  the  continent  with  the  books  of  the  company,  which 
were  supposed  to  contain  important  secrets  which  would  have 
condemned  many  in  high  influence  at  court.  A  parliamentary 
investigation  of  the  subject  was  ordered  and  made,  which  revealed, 
in  the  language  of  the  report  of  the  committee,  "  a  train  of  the 
deepest  villany  and  fraud  hell  ever  contrived  for  the  ruin  of  any 
nation."  The  ministry  was  immediately  broken  up,  and  in 
April,  1721,  a  new  one  was  formed  under  the  guidance  of  Sir 
Robert  Walpole.  Lord  Stanhope,  one  of  the  previous  ministry, 
overcome  by  his  transports  of  rage  at  the  accusations  made  against 
him,  expired  from  the  intensity  of  his  emotions.  George  I.  re- 
ceived the  intelligence  of  his  sudden  death  at  supper.  He  was 
unable  to  suppress  his  grief,  and  immediately  rose  from  the 
table  with  his  eyes  suffused  with  tears.*     Through  the  judicious 

^      *  Some  of  the  great  villains  concerned  in  these  wrongs  met  with  a  punish- 
ment in  some  degree  commensurate  with  their  crimes.    Aislabie  was  expelled 


52  mSTOET  OF  THE  FOTTR  GEOKGES. 

measures  adopted  by  Robert  Walpole,  public  credit  was  soon 
restored  to  some  degree,  and  the  evils  entailed  on  the  nation 
by  this  great  calamity  were  ameliorated.  This  is  the  period  in 
English  history  at  which  political  caricatures  first  began  to  be 
common  in  England ;  for  previous  to  this  interval  of  frantic  ex- 
ultaticjn  and  as  frantic  despair,  they  were  usually  mere  emblems, 
which  were  so  obscure  and  cautious,  as  to  be  rarely  intelligible. 
The  general  feelings  which  pervaded  society,  after  it  began  to 
recover  from  the  blow,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact,  that  it 
became  a  general  practice  when  a  knave  turned  up  in  playing  at 
cards,  for  the  dealer  to  exclaim  :  "  There's  a  director  for  you." 

But  Sir  Robert  Walpole  was  again  at  the  helm  of  state  ;  and 
soon  the  energy  and  ability  of  his  administration  made  them- 
selves widely  and  pemanently  felt.  He  now  adopted  means  for 
carrying  on  the  government,  which,  if  they  were  censurable,  were 
at  the  same  time  the  most  efficacious.  Seeing  the  universal  per- 
fidy and  unmixed  selfishness  which  characterized  the  patriots  and 
politicians  of  everyparty  and  profession,  he  adopted  the  plan  of 
buying  over  everybody  to  the  support  of  the  government,  by 
using  for  that  purpose  the  secret  service  money.  It  is  easy  for 
the  rigid  moralist  to  condemn  this  expedient  on  the  part  of  the 
minister  ;  but  a  little  reflection  will  perhaps  convince  every  im- 
partial thinker  that,  if  men  are  hopelessly  selfish  and  mercenary, 
and  if  gold  alone  will  induce  them  to  support  good  measures 
which  are  promotive  of  the  welfare  of  the  nation,  it  is  better  to 
use  the  nation's  money  for  that  purpose,  than  permit  her  legisla- 
tors, for  the  want  of  its  distribution,  to  adopt  injurious  and  un- 
just measures.  The  election  for  a  new  Parliament  was  ap- 
proaching, and  an  extensive  system  of  bribery  was  employed  to 
influence  the  result.    Then  was  seen  an  exemplification  of  the  real 

from  his  scat  in  Parliament.  Craggs  opportunely  died,  and  thus  escaped  a  simi- 
lar fate.  Sunderland  retired  from  office  in  total  disgrace.  Knight  escaped  to 
Brussels,  where  he  was  arrested  by  the  British  resident ;  but  he  subsequently 
escaped  again.  The  immense  fortunes  of  the  Directors  of  the  South  Sea  Com- 
pany were  appropriated  by  aa  act  of  Parliament  to  relieve  the  prevalent  dis- 
tress, and  the  charter  of  the  pernicious  and  delusive  monster  was  totally 
abolished. 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  FIRST.  53 

baseness  of  humanity  ;  not  only  were  the  common  herd  of  poli- 
ticians acces.siLlc  and  subservient  to  bribes,  but  many  men  of 
high  standing,  of  loud  professions  of  patriotism,  and  of  great 
social  influence,  were  known  to  be  closeted  with  the  Premier,  and 
to  have  carried  away  with  them  from  his  cabinet,  the  abundant 
and  potent  wages  of  their  infamy. 

The  chief  defect  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  if  defect  it  be,  was 
an  insatiable  avarice  of  power.  He  could  bear  no  man  of  com- 
manding intellect,  who  might  dare  to  influence  his  own,  to  be 
near  him  in  the  administration.  Accordingly,  in  forming  his 
cabinet  he  omitted  to  confer  a  place  upon  his  old  and  tried  ally 
Pulteney,  one  of  the  ablest,  most  respectable,  and  most  eloquent 
statesmen  whom  England  had  ever  produced.  Pulteney  thence- 
forth became  Walpole's  mortal  foe,  and  transferred  the  weight  of 
his  talents  to  the  opposition.  In  a  short  time  Carteret,  another 
man  of  great  ability,  and  whose  knowledge  of  foreign  affairs  was 
most  extensive  and  accurate,  was  compelled  to  retire  from  the 
cabinet  in  consequence  of  the  all-absorbing  ambition  of  the  Pre- 
mier. He  also  joined  the  ranks  of  the  opposition.  Lord  Towns- 
hend  was  a  man  of  a  different  stamp.  He  was  less  eloquent  and 
less  gifted  than  the  two  preceding  statesmen ;  but  he  was  more 
stable,  more  reliable,  more  profound.  In  addition  to  this,  he 
was  Walpole's  cousin,  his  brother-in-law,  his  old  friend,  his  for- 
mer colleague  in  the  cabinet,  his  neighbor  both  in  town  and  in 
country.  Yet  a  personal  dispute  respecting  the  exercise  of  their 
respective  functions  took  place  between  them,  which  nearly  ter- 
minated with  a  personal  conflict  or  a  duel ;  but  which  ended  in 
nothing  more  serious  or  disastrous  than  Lord  Townshend's  with- 
drawal from  the  cabinet,  and  the  loss  of  a  faithful  and  attached 
friend.  In  a  short  time  Lord  Chesterfield,  Lord  Cobham,  Lord 
Stair,  and  others,  were  compelled  for  the  same  reason,  to  adopt 
the  same  course. 

Yet  in  justice  to  Walpole  it  must  be  admitted,  that  to  him 
the  house  of  Hanover  were  indebted,  in  a  very  great  measure, 
for  their  establishment  upon  the  throne  of  England.  Few  gi-eat 
ministers  among  the  many  whom  the  English  nation,  so  prolific 


54:  HISTOKY  OF  TIIE  FOtrii  GEOEOES. 

of  illustrious  men  has  produced,  possessed  greater  talents, 
or  wielded  more  absolute  power,  or  left  a  brighter  fame. 
He  was  descended  from  an  ancient  and  affluent  family  in  the 
county  of  Norfolk.  He  was  originally  destined  for  the  church ; 
but  by  the  early  death  of  an  elder  brother  the  direction  of  his 
life  was  changed,  and  he  passed  some  years  in  the  quiet  obscuri- 
ty of  a  country  gentleman.  His  attention  was  first  attracted  to 
politics,  at  the  close  of  the  reign  of  William  III.,  by  the  great 
perils  which  then  so  fiercely  menaced  the  Protestant  succession. 
The  act  of  settlement  which  determined  propitiously  the  future 
destination  of  the  crown,  was  passed  by  Parliament  only  by  a 
majority  of  one;  and  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
Queen  Anne's  son,  increased  the  danger  to  a  higher  degree.  Wal- 
pole  then  entered  Parliament,  and  soon  his  superior  capacity  for 
the  conduct  of  affairs  became  clearly  evident.  He  took  rank  as 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Whig  opposition.  He  gained  the  confi- 
dence of  Godolphin,  and  was  by  him  appointed  Secretary  at  war, 
the  first  position  which  he  occupied  in  the  administration.  When 
the  disgraceful  treaty  was  concluded  with  Louis  XIV.,  by  which 
that  pompous  and  perfidious  tyrant  was  saved  from  ruin,  and  all 
the  glory  with  which  the  victories  of  Blenheim,  Eamillies,  Ouden- 
arde,  and  Malplaquet  had  covered  the  British  nation  and  the  Brit- 
ish arms  was  wiped  away  by  the  filthy  skirt  of  the  robe  of  a 
mistress  of  the  royal  bed-chamber ;  Walpole  in  honorable  and 
reasonable  disgust  resigned  his  office,  leaving  Harley  and  Boling- 
broke  to  govern  the  disgraced  cabinet,  queen,  and  nation.  He 
boldly  defended  Marlborough  against  the  attacks  of  the  adverse 
faction ;  in  revenge  for  which  a  charge  of  corruption  when  m 
office  was  made  against  him.  He  was  sent  to  the  Tower,  upon 
an  accusation  of  having  received  nine  hundred  pounds  from  a 
contractor  ;  he  was  expelled  from  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
having  been  re-elected,  was  pronounced  ineligible  to  a  seat,  by  a 
majority  of  the  House.  The  receipt  of  the  money  was  nevei 
denied ;  the  only  defence  was  that  the  long-established  usage 
of  the  war  office  justified  the  act.  That  Walpole  was  avaricious  is 
evident  from  the  vast  amount  of  his  accumulations.    With  a  for- 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  TIIE  FIKST.  55 

tune  originally  of  only  two  thousand  pounds  a  year,  his  wealth 
toward  the  termination  of  his  public  career,  amounted  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds.  He  entertained  the  convic- 
tion that  all  politicians  were  corrupt ;  and  he  is  well  known  to 
have  asserted  boldly,  that  all  such  men  had  their  price.*  Dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  George  I.  ho  resisted  the  de- 
sire of  that  monarch  for  hostilities  against  Prussia,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  Mechlenburg  quarrel.  Five  years  afterwards,  when 
the  stupid  monarch  wished  to  oppose  the  Czar  of  Russia,  and 
support  the  Duke  of  Ilolstein  in  his  claims  on  the  Swedish 
throne,  Walpole  again  and  successfully  resisted  the  j^olicy  of 
involving  England  with  the  quarrels  of  the  continent,  in  which 
she  did  not  possess  the  slightest  degree  of  real  interest.  When, 
therefore,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  House  of  Hanover  for 
the  last  time  in  1715,  he  carried  with  him  into  the  cabinet  the 
reputation  of  being  not  only  an  able,  but  also  a  disinterested  and 
patriotic  statesman.  As  an  orator,  and  master  of  the  great  art 
of  debate,  Walpole  was  chiefly  remarkable  for  his  strong  and 
manly  sense,  his  clear  statements,  his  contempt  for  all  artificial 
ornaments,  his  boldness,  firmness,  and  directness,  his  readiness 
of  retort  and  reply,  his  great  self-possession  and  command  of 
temper,  his  invariable  coolness  and  presence  of  mind,  and  his 
prevalent  good  humor.  Of  him  it  might  be  said,  with  truth, 
that  no  man  has  ever  been  a  greater  favorite  with  the  House 
of  Commons,  whose  turbulent  and  often  half-drunken  mem- 
bers it  was  his  constant  duty  to  lead,  during  many  memo- 
rable years  of  anxiety,  danger  and  conflict.  Lord  Dover,  in 
speaking  of  him,  justly  denominates  him  "  the  glory  of  the 
Whigs."  And  it  is  the  more  singular  that  his  personal  influence 
became  so  despotic  over  his  party,  and  over  his  monarch,  because 
he  had  to  resist  the  counterbalancing  tendency  of  some  great  de- 
fects. His  general  knowledge  was  very  deficient,  and  must 
have  often  excited  the  contempt  of  the  polished  and  cultivated 
nobles  whom  he  made  his  subservient  tools.     His  manners  were 

*  Vide  Coxe's  Life  of  Robert  Walpole,  Vol.  I.,p.  757. 


56  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

exceedingly  coarse ;  and  his  hours  of  relaxation  were  spent  in 
noisy,  licentious,  and  profane  revelry.  Notwithstanding  all 
these  and  other  blemishes,  England,  during  a  thousand  years  of 
national  existence,  may  be  said  to  have  produced  but  one  Robert 
Walpole. 


CHAPTER   lY. 

Movements  of  tho  Pretender— Apprehensions  felt  In  England— Bishop  Atterbury— His 
Trial  for  Treason,  and  Banishment — Theological  Controversies — Doctrine  of  tho 
Trinity — Spirit  of  Eeligious  Toleration — Tho  Earl  of  Nottingham's  Bill  of  Pains 
and  Penalties — Bigotry  and  Intoleranco  of  tho  Bishops — Persecution  of  tho  Boman 
Cathohcs — Relations  of  England  with  the  Continental  Powers. 

The  Pretender  to  the  British  throne,  who  at  this  period 
resided  at  Rome,  had  not  abandoned  his  ambitious  schemes  ;  and 
during  the  prevalence  of  the  speculative  mania  in  England,  had 
been  busy  with  his  agents  in  preparing  the  future  movements 
of  his  party.  The  exultation  of  his  friends  had  been  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that,  in  1720,  the  Polish  wife  of  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  House  of  Stuart  had  given  birth  to  a  son.  This 
son  was  destined  afterwards  to  experience  the  most  singular  and 
romantic  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  The  disasters  resulting  from  the 
South  Sea  Bubble  had  thrown  great  disgrace  upon  the  govern- 
ment of  George  I.  His  cabinet  were  compelled  to  resign,  and 
on  their  ruins  Robert  Walpole  rose  triumphantly  to  power. 
To  escape  the  unpopularity  which  surrounded  him,  the  king  spent 
a  large  portion  of  the  year  1720  in  his  hereditary  dominions  on 
the  continent.  So  badly  had  his  affairs  been  administered  in 
England,  that  the  debts  on  his  civil  list  for  this  year  amounted  to 
half  a  million  pounds ;  and  he  was  compelled  to  apply  to  Par- 
liament for  a  special  grant  to  liquidate  them.  This  state  of 
affairs  added  ardor  to  the  hopes  of  the  Jacobite  faction.  About 
this  period  the  mother  6f  the  sovereign's  wife,  Eleanor,  Duchess 
of  Zell,  expired,  and  the  court  in  consequence  went  into  mourning. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  this  was  the  only  domestic  incident 
3*' 


58  HISTOEY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 

and  usage  during  the  reign  of  George  I.,  in  which  his  unfortunate 
wife  was  permitted  to  participate  with  her  family. 

Early  in  1722  the  movements  of  the  Pretender  again  as- 
sumed a  formidable  importance.  With  the  assistance  of  Cardi- 
nal Alberoni,  the  prime  minister  of  Spain,  a  Spanish  armament 
consisting  of  six  thousand  troops  sailed  from  the  port  of  Cadiz, 
under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Ormond.*  But  this  fleet 
was  dispersed  and  destroyed  by  a  terrific  tempest  oflT  Cape 
Finisterre.  Two  frigates  only,  with  the  Earls  of  Mareschal 
and  Seaforth,  and  the  Marquis  of  Tullibardine,  were  able  to 
continue  the  voyage.  These  vessels  contained  three  hundred 
Spanish  soldiers,  and  arrived  safely  on  the  coast  of  Scotland. 
Here  they  were  joined  by  a  few  Highland  clans  ;  but  on  the  first 
conflict  with  the  royal  troops,  they  were  vanquished,  and  the 
whole  body  of  Spanish  soldiers  surrendered  as  prisoners  of  war. 
In  a  short  time  no  vestige  remained  in  Scotland  of  this  futile  and 
ill-conducted  conspiracy. 

Much  greater  apprehension  was  felt  in  England  in  reference 
to  the  movements  of  the  Pretendei*,  than  the  course  of  events 
justified.  As  soon  as  the  sailing  of  the  Duke  of  Ormond  from  Ca- 
diz was  known  at  London,  an  intense  panic  pervaded  the  capital. 
A  camp  was  immediately  formed  in  Hyde  Park  to  protect  the 
king  and  the  city  from  the  attacks  of  the  Jacobites.  It  is  a 
singular  circumstance  that  the  most  prominent  personage  in  this 
conspiracy  in  England  was  Bishop  Atterbury,  a  prelate  of  the 
established  church.  He  held  the  see  of  Eochester,  and  had  been 
a  minister  of  the  crown  during  the  brief  period  of  the  premier- 
ship of  Bolingbroke  under  Queen  Anne.  On  her  death,  the 
bishop  had  been  bold  enough  to  propose  to  his  associates  in  the 
cabinet,  that  they  should  proclaim  the  reputed  son  of  James  II.  as 
her  successor.     Ever  since  the  accession  of  the  House  of  Han- 

*  It  is  well  known  that  the  assistance  rendered  by  Alberoni  to  the  Pretender 
was  in  revenge  for  the  part  which  George  I.  took  in  the  Quadruple  Alliance. 
The  object  of  this  aUiance  was  to  reconcile  and  adj^ist  the  rival  claims  and  pre- 
tensions of  the  courts  of  Vienna  and  Madrid ;  in  which  dispute  the  English 
monarch  had  warmly  espoused  the  interests  of  the  former  in  opposition  to  those 
of  the  King  of  Spain. 


LIFE  AKD  KEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FERST.  59 

over,  Atterbury  had  continued  secretly  to  plot  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  exiled  family.  Nor  was  he  idle  on  the  present  occa- 
sion; for  when  the  most  active  conspirators  in  London  were 
imprisoned  and  examined,  they  all  implicated  Bishop  Atterbury. 
These  persons  were  a  clergyman  named  Kelly,  an  Irish  priest 
named  Neynoe,  the  Jesuit  Plunket,  and  Sayer,  a  barrister  of  the 
Temple.  The  prelate  was  therefore  arrested  and  committed  to 
the  Tower,  on  the  24th  of  August,  1722.  In  :May,  1723,  he  was 
brought  to  trial  before  the  House  of  Lords,  and  a  bill  of  pains 
and  penalties  was  passed  which  deprived  him  of  his  bishopric, 
and  banished  him  from  the  kingdom.  He  was  placed  on  board 
a  king's  vessel  and  conveyed  to  France.  He  was  followed  by  a 
torrent  of  execration  and  curses,  not  only  from  the  members  of 
his  own  profession,  but  from  the  large  majority  of  the  nation, 
such  as  has  never  before  or  since  been  heaped  upon  the  head  of 
any  Christian  minister.*  The  declaration  which  had  been  pub- 
lished by  the  Pretender  at  the  commencement  of  the  recent  con- 
spiracy, and  dated  from  Lucca,  was  decreed  by  both  Houses  to 
be  a  false,  insolent,  and  traitorous  libel,  and  was  ordered  to 
be  burned  by  the  common  hangman.  In  this  declaration,  its 
author  had  promised  with  singular  generosity,  that  if  George  I. 
would  relinquish  the  throne,  he  would  consent  to  his  retaining 
the  title  of  king  in  Hanover,  would  unite  all  other  European 
states  to  confirm  it,  and  would  also  give  him  the  succession  to 
the  British  throne  whenever  his  own  legitimate  heirs  might  be- 
come extinct.  Tlie  Houses  presented  an  address  to  the  king, 
expressing  their  astonishment  at  such  extraordinary  presump- 
tion ;  and  repeated  to  him  their  assurances  of  support  against 
the  impotent  efforts  of  the  attainted  fugitive  from  whom  such 
sentiments  had  proceeded. 

The  public  mind,  being  thus  relieved  for  the  present  from 
the  fear  of  outward  mvasion  and  disturbance,  reverted,  with  its 
habitual  restlessness,  to  subjects  of  conflict  and  litigation  at  home. 

*  Vide  "  England  under  ihe  House  of  Hanover  ;  its  History  and  Condition 
during  the  Eeigns  of  tJie  Three  Georges,  d:c.  By  Thomas  Wright,  Esq.  2  vols., 
London,  1848.     Vol.  I.,  p.  87. 


60  HISTOKY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEOKGES. 

A  vehement  controversy  arose  in  reference  to  the  Trinity.  The 
doctrine  of  the  established  church  on  this  subject  was  assailed 
"with  great  learning  and  ability  by  Dr.  Whiston,  in  several 
elaborate  publications.  The  University  of  Oxford  then  took 
hold  of  the  subject,  and  in  full  convocation  resolved,  that  the 
solemn  thanks  of  that  body  should  be  tendered  to  the  Earl  of 
Nottingham  for  his  noble  defence  of  the  Catholic  faith,  con- 
tained in  his  answer  to  Professor  Whiston.  Being  thus  encour- 
aged, this  theological  and  exegetical  statesman  introduced  a  bill 
into  the  House  of  Peers,  for  the  suppression  of  blasphemy  and 
profanity ;  which  enacted  that  whoever  spoke  or  wrote  against 
the  being  of  a  God,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  or 
the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  should  suffer  imprisonment  for 
an  indefinite  term,  unless  he  renounced  and  abjured  his  errors. 
The  bill  further  proceeded  to  give  authority  to  all  bishops  and 
archbishops  within  their  respective  jurisdiction  to  summon  any 
dissenting  teacher,  and  require  his  subscription  to  a  declaration  of 
faith  containing  the  preceding  articles ;  and  upon  his  refusing 
so  to  do,  authorizing  the  prelate  to  deprive  him  of  the  benefit  of 
the  act  of  toleration. 

llie  discussion  of  this  infamous  bill  furnished  an  opportunity 
to  the  various  members  of  Parliament,  and  especially  to  the  eccle- 
siastical members,  to  exhibit  the  detestable  spirit  which  actuated 
them.  It  was  evident  that  those  who  supported  the  most  flagrant 
violation  of  every  principle  of  religious  liberty ;  who  were  tyrants 
and  bigots  equal  in  intensity  to  the  worst  of  Romish  inquisitors  ; 
^^■ho  were  themselves  unworthy  to  possess  the  rights  which  they 
enjoyed,  and  were  in  reality  a  disgrace  to  the  Christian  name, — 
that  all  these  would  sustain  the  bill.  Accordingly,  it  is  melancholy 
to  note  that  the  prelates  in  the  House  were  its  most  ardent  and 
determmed  advocates.  Dr.  Wake,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  as 
he  was  more  eminent  in  rank  and  position,  became  more  prom- 
inent and  pertinacious  in  its  favor.  He  was  followed  by  the 
Bishops  of  London,  W^inchester,  Litchfield,  Coventry,  and  many 
others.     Only  two  secular  peers  sustained  the  bill.     Many  of 


LITE  AND  EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   TIIE   FIRST.  61 

them  warmly  opposed  its  passage  with  arguments  of  great  earn- 
estness and  ability.  Lord  Onslow  declared,  that  although  he 
was  warmly  attached  to  the  established  church  and  its  doctrines, 
he  would  never  aid  the  propagation  of  truth  by  persecution. 
The  Duke  of  Wharton  followed ;  and  during  the  delivery  of  his 
speech  drew  from  his  pocket  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures,  and  quoted, 
in  support  of  his  position,  passages  enjoining  miiversal  charity, 
meekness,  and  forbearance.  The  Eai-1  of  Peterborough  declared, 
with  great  eloquence  and  fervor,  that  though  he  was  in  favor  ofj 
a  parliamentary  king,  he  was  opposed  to  a  parliamentary  God, 
and  a  parliamentary  religion ;  and  that  if  the  bill  passed,  he 
should  much  prefer  to  occupy  a  seat  among  the  Popish  Cardinals 
than  a  place  in  the  British  House  of  Lords.  He  condemned 
above  all  other  outrages,  those  of  a  Protestant  Inquisition. 
Lord  Cowper  stigmatized  the  bill  as  an  avowal  of  the  most  ex- 
ecrable practices  of  the  Komish  church,  which,  if  adopted,  would 
eventually  lead  to  the  introduction  of  the  rack,  the  wheel,  and  the 
stake.  Other  members  of  the  House  spoke  to  the  same  effect ; 
and  boldly  asserted,  what  must  be  evident  indeed  to  every  dis- 
cerning mind,  that  the  introduction  and  support  of  this  bill  was 
another  of  the  innumerable  instances  which  constantly  occurred, 
in  which  a  pretended  regard  for  the  honor  .of  religion  was  made 
a  pretext  for  the  gratification  of  the  most  malignant  and  infa- 
mous passions.  The  bill  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  sixty  against 
thirty-one. 

The  prevalent  tone  of  feeling  in  the  British  nation,  during 
the  reign  of  George  L,  in  consequence  of,  or  perhaps  in  concur- 
rence with,  the  supi-emacy  of  the  Whigs,  was  one  of  religious 
toleration  and  enlightened  liberty.  The  fate  which  awaited  the 
bill  of  the  Earl  of  Nottingham,  just  referred  to,  furnished  an  evi- 
dence as  well  as  a  result  of  this  fact.  But  the  advocates  of  eccle- 
siastical tyranny  were  not  easily  disheartened  ;  and  in  the  course 
of  the  same  session  another  debate  ensued  which  elicited  a  still 
more  execrable  display  of  bigotry  and  intolerance,  A  respectful 
petition  was  presented  to  Parliament  by  the  Society  of  Quakers, 
who  believed  that  the  administration  of  oaths  is  always  unlawful. 


62  mSTOEY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEGES. 

requesting  that  the  words  "  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God  " 
might  be  omitted  in  their  cases,  in  the  legal  and  authorized  form 
of  adjuration,  as  being  repugnant  to  their  honest  convictions  of 
duty.  A  great  storm  arose  in  the  House  of  Lords  when  this  bill 
was  proposed.  A  majority  of  the  prelates  vociferated  their  malig- 
nant spite  against  it,  and  against  those  to  whom  it  referred.  Tlie 
Bishop  of  Rochester  declared  that  he  knew  not  why  such  a  mark  ot 
indulgence  should  be  extended  to  a  set  of  fanatics,  who  had  no 
claim  whatever  to  the  name  of  Christian.  A  counter  petition 
was  presented  by  the  Archbishop  of  York  from  the  clergy  of 
London,  expressing  the  most  serious  concern  lest  good  men 
should  be  grieved,  and  the  enemies  of  religion  elated,  by  the 
spectacle  of  the  Legislature  of  the  nation  condescending  to  favor 
the  demands  of  a  sect  who  renounced  the  divine  institutions  of  * 
Christianity,  and  particularly  that  one  of  them,  by  which  the 
fkithful  are  initiated  into  the  church,  and  become  Christians ; 
meaning  thereby  confirmation,  for  which  rite,  however  useful 
and  commendable  it  may  be,  or  may  not  be,  in  itself,  not  a  parti- 
cle of  authority  can  be  found  in  Scripture.  But  the  British  Par- 
liament and  nation  were  not  to  be  disgraced  by  an  approval  of 
such  a  petition.  It  was  rejected,  and  the  request  of  the  Quakers 
was  finally  and  justly  allowed  ;  very  much  to  the  disgust  of  the 
mitred  and  gowned  bigots  and  hypocrites,  who,  on  this  occasion, 
were  the  determined  advocates  of  religious  tyraimy  and  in- 
tolerance. 

It  cannot  be  asserted,  however,  that  the  same  enlightened 
and  impartial  policy  characterized  all  the  acts  of  legislation  which 
were  passed,  in  reference  to  the  several  classes  of  religionists  in 
the  nation  at  this  period.  In  the  same  session  of  Parliament,  a 
bill  was  introduced  proposing  that  a  hundred  thousand  pounds 
should  be  assessed  upon  the  estates  of  Roman  Catholics,  on  the 
ground  that  they  had  been  making  frequent  efforts  to  subvert 
the  government,  to  compass  the  expulsion  of  the  House  of  Han- 
over, and  the  return  of  the  exiled  family ;  and  because  it  was 
held  to  be  highly  reasonable  that  the  fomentors  of  disturbances 
which  it  had  cost  the  state  large  sums  of  money  to  suppress, 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FIEST.  63 

should  themselves  be  compelled  to  endure  a  portion  of  the  bur- 
den. The  Tory  and  Jacobite  factions  in  Parliament,  as  well  as 
in  the  nation,  earnestly  condemned  this  bill,  as  a  matter  of 
course ;  but  it  was  opposed  also  by  many  others  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  patriotic  members  of  the  House.  It  was  contend- 
ed by  them,  with  great  force  of  argument,  that  because  some  of 
the  Eoman  Catholics  were  suspected,  and  even  proved,  to  have 
been  concerned  in  treasonable  measures,  it  was  unjust  that  the 
whole  body  of  them  should  not  only  be  charged  with  the  guilt 
of  others,  but  be  compelled  even  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  it ;  that 
while  the  law  supposes  every  man  to  be  responsible  for  his  own 
acts,  and  for  {hose  only,  this  bill  rendered  one  party  answerable 
for  the  conduct  of  another,  over  whom  it  did  not  appear^  that 
'  they  were  disposed  or  were  able  to  exercise  any  control ;  that  the 
proposed  bill  specified  no  individual  Roman  Catholic  upon  whom 
either  suspicion  or  evidence  was  able  to  affix  the  charge ;  that 
there  was  no  justice  in  the  argument,  that  thus  to  punish  the 
Jacobites  at  home  indiscriminately,  would  deter  their  confeder- 
ates abroad  from  entering  upon  rash  and  treasonable  enterprises, 
because  no  connection  or  collision  had  been  proved  between 
them,  and  because  the  very  liability  of  those  at  home  to  such 
unwarrantable  tyranny  might  in  flict  render  both  those  at  home 
and  those  abroad  more  reckless,  more  disaffected,  and  more  rebel- 
lious ;  and  that  it  was  both  impolitic  and  infamous  for  the  govern- 
ment to  treat  a  body  of  men  as  criminal,  simply  because  they 
were  suspected  to  be  guilty,  while  as  yet  the  vigilance  and  the 
malignity  of  their  enemies  had  been  unable  to  produce  the  slight- 
est amount  of  evidence  against  them. 

These  considerations  were  not  answered  by  the  opposing  fac- 
tion ;  but  prejudice  assumed  the  place  of  argument,  and  the  bill 
finally  passed  by  a  majority  of  two  hundred  and  seventeen  votes, 
against  a  hundred  and  sixty-eight.  It  then  received  the  sanction 
of  the  sovereign.  On  the  27th  of  May,  1723,  the  king  closed 
the  session  of  Parliament  by  a  speech  from  the  throne,  in  which 
he  expressed  his  satisfaction  at  the  measures  which  had  been 
adopted,  especially  those  which  appertained  to  the  punishment  of 


64:  HISTOKY   OF  THE   FOUR   GE0EGE8. 

political  offenders,  whose  guilt,  though  it  was  concealed  under 
the  veil  of  secrecy,  was  nevertheless  well  known  to  the  agents  of 
the  government.  He  concluded  by  remarking  that  some  extra- 
ordinary affairs  would  again  render  it  necessary  for  him  to  visit 
the  continent ;  and  he  indulged  the  hope  that,  during  his  absence, 
the  wisdom  and  vigilance  of  his  good  subjects  would  preserve 
the  security  of  their  country,  their  religion,  and  their  govern- 
ment. The  special  object  of  the  royal  solicitude  was  the  coalition 
which  the  king  had  reason  to  believe  had  been  formed  between 
Russia  and  Sweden  for  the  restoration  of  the  Duchy  of  Schleswic 
to  the  Duke  of  Holstein  ;  in  which  case  the  security  of  the  king's 
favorite  acquisitions,  the  Duchies  of  Bremen  and  Verden,  would 
be  seriously  and  permanently  endangered.  It  was  ascertained 
with  certainty,  that  the  Emperor  of  Germany  had  become  a 
party  to  the  treaty  of  Stockholm — an  article  of  which  referred 
to  the  restoration  of  the  Duchy  of  Schleswic — in  return  for  the 
adhesion  of  the  contracting  powers  to  the  execution  of  the  cel- 
ebrated edict,  termed  the  Pragmatic  Sanction  ;  which  was  in- 
tended to  secure  the  vast  and  heterogeneous  possessions  of  the 
House  of  Hapsburg,  as  a  perpetual  and  an  indivisible  feofment 
to  Maria  Theresa,  and  to  her  heirs  forever.* 

*  The  term  Pragmatic  is  used  in  this  case  in  a  peculiar  sense.  It  is  derived 
from  the  Greek  TrpayixaTLKbi,  solers  in  rebus  tradandis,  at  the  same  time  involv- 
ing the  complex  idea  of  meddling  in  affairs,  and  those  affairs  being  of  the  greatest 
impoHance.  The  word  was  first  employed  by  the  historians  of  the  Byzantine 
Empire,  and  with  this  precise  signification.  In  European  history  the  term  is 
applied  to  two  celebrated  edicts.  The  first  is  that  issued  by  Charles  VII.  of 
France  in  1438,  which  secured  the  liberties  of  the  Galilean  Church  against 
the  encroachments  and  the  tyranny  of  Rome.  The  other  was  the  one  referred 
to  in  the  text,  and  was  established  after  many  years  of  anxious  negotiation  with 
the  various  powers  of  Europe,  by  the  Emperor  Charles  VI.  of  Germany,  but 
which,  after  his  death,  became  as  paralyzed  and  as  impotent  as  its  defunct  author. 


CHAPTER   Y. 

Treaty  formed  between  England  and  the  Continental  Powers— Horace  Walpole— Dis- 
eatisfaction  with  the  Treaty — Trial  and  ruiiishment  of  the  Earl  of  Macclesfield — 
Keturn  of  Bolingbrokc  to  England — He  unites  with  Pulteuey  and  Windham  in  op- 
position— Character  of  William  Tultoncy — Ills  remarkable  Attainments — Character 
of  Windham — Description  of  Bolingbrokc — His  Early  History — His  Physical  Ad- 
vantages— His  Prodigious  Talents — His  Political  Career — Death  of  the  Wife  of  George 
I.  at  AMden. 

To  counteract  tlie  dangerous  influence  of  the  treaty  referred 
to  in  the  preceding  chapter,  an  alliance  was  formed  at  Hanover, 
in  September,  1725,  under  the  auspices  of  George  L,  to  which 
England,  France,  Denmark,  Prussia,  and  Holland  became  par- 
ties. The  existence  of  this  treaty  was  communicated  to  the 
British  Parliament  in  January,  1726,  and  it  immediately  excited 
very  determined  hostility,  on  the  ground  that  by  it  the  British 
nation  would  eventually  become  involved  in  a  war  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  king's  Hanoverian  dominions,  contrary  to  an  ex- 
press provision  contained  in  the  act  of  settlement.  The  chief 
agent  of  the  king  in  the  consummation  of  this  alliance  was 
Horace  Walpole,  the  able  and  astute  brother  of  the  prime  min- 
ister. He  rose  in  Parliament  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the 
merits  of  the  treaty,  answering  the  objections  which  had  been 
urged  against  it,  and  showing  the  importance,  wisdom,  and  ne- 
cessity of  its  provisions.  He  explained,  in  an  elaborate  and 
lengthy  argument,  the  relations  and  interests  of  the  chief  powers 
of  Europe  since  the  treaty  of  Utrecht.  He  detailed  the  progress 
and  bearings  of  the  various  alliances  which  had  been  formed  by 
them  subsequent  to  that  event.  He  clearly  pointed  out  how  the 
utmost  danger  threatened  from  the  treaty  of  Vienna,  formed 
between  the  emperor  and  the  King  of  Spain ;  how  the  establish- 


66  mSTOKY  OF  THE  FOUE  GEOEGES. 

mcnt  of  an  East  India  Company  at  Ostend  was  intended  as  the 
rival  of  the  commercial  power  and  success  of  Britain  ;  how  the 
treaty  of  Vienna  would  probably  be  followed  by  a  marriage  be- 
tween the  eldest  daughter  of  the  emperor  and  the  Infant  Don 
Carlos  of  Spain  ;  how  the  issue  of  such  a  marriage  would,  in  time, 
inherit  not  only  the  imperial  diadem,  and  the  vast  hereditary 
possessions  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg,  but  also  the  monarchy  of 
Spain,  and  its  appendages  in  two  continents ;  how  the  occurrence 
of  such  an  event  would  destroy  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe, 
and  endanger  its  liberties ;  and  how,  to  obviate  and  resist  such 
calamitous  results,  the  treaty  of  Hanover  had  been  consummated 
by  the  British  sovereign  with  the  best  intentions,  with  great 
labor,  and  with  profound  sagacity. 

The  arguments  of  Walpole  readUy  convinced  the  Parliament 
of  the  truthfulness  of  his  position,  and  the  treaty  of  Hanover  was 
approved  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  An  address  to  the  king 
was  voted  by  a  majority  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  against 
a  hundred  and  seven,  declaring  the  fullest  approbation  of  the 
House  of  the  treaty,  expressing  their  gratitude  to  the  king  for 
his  exertions  in  disappointing  the  dangerous  schemes  entertained 
by  the  emperor  and  the  King  of  Spain,  and  reprobating  the  alli- 
ance which  had  been  formed  between  them.  The  House  further 
declared  to  his  majesty  that  the  nation  would  support  him 
against  the  attacks  which  any  hostile  power  might  make 
against  him,  in  revenge  for  the  wise  and  judicious  measures 
which  he  had  adopted,  even  though  those  attacks  should  be  direct- 
ed against  his  Hanoverian  dominions.  The  treaty  of  Hanover 
was  strengthened  in  March,  1727,  by  the  accession  of  Sweden ; 
which  power  had  till  then  been  deterred  from  so  doing  by  the 
influence  and  the  dread  of  Russia.  But  that  dread  was  dissi- 
pated when,  after  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great,  Sir  Charles 
Wager  was  sent  by  order  of  George  I.  with  a  powerful  fleet  to 
the  Baltic,  with  orders  not  to  permit  the  Russian  ships  to  leave 
the  port  of  Revel  mitil  the  Empress  Catherine  I.  had  duly  ex- 
plained her  intentions  in  reference  to  the  vast  naval  equipments 
which  she  had  recently  prepared  for  some  unrevealed  and  un- 


LITE   AND   REIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   FIRST.  67 

known  purpose.  The  reply  of  the  empress  declared  that  nothing 
was  farther  from  her  thoughts  than  to  disturb  in  any  way  the 
peace  of  the  north  ;  and  expressed  a  desire  to  maintain  the  most 
amicable  relations  with  the  British  monarch.  She  nevertheless 
admitted,  that  she  desired  the  restoration  of  Schleswic  to  the 
Duke  of  Holstcin,  though  she  was  perfectly  willing  that  an  equiv- 
alent should  be  allowed  for  it  to  the  Danish  monarch.  Being 
thus  reassured,  George  I.  ordered  the  return  of  his  fleet  to  Eng- 
land ;  but  the  impression  produced  by  these  events  was  highly 
favorable  to  the  superiority  of  the  naval  power  of  Great  Britain. 
During  the  year  1725  a  domestic  incident  occurred,  which 
served  to  show  the  impartial  administration  of  public  justice 
which  at  that  period  existed  in  England.  The  Earl  of  JMaccles- 
field,  lord  high  chancellor  of  the  realm,  was  impeached  by  the 
House  of  Commons  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  This 
person,  whose  original  name  was  Thomas  Parker,  commenced 
his  career  as  an  attorney's  clerk,  and  rapidly  rose,  by  means  of 
his  superior  talents,  through  all  the  various  grades  of  the  law, 
until  he  attained  the  highest.  George  I.  raised  him  to  the  rank 
of  Earl  in  1721.  He  was  a  partisan  of  the  monarch  against  his 
son  and  future  successor,  in  the  disputes  which  constantly  took 
place  between  them.  To  his  care  were  intrusted  the  children  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  he  exercised  great  influence  in  the  royal 
household.  But  the  chancellor,  like  his  illustrious  and  infamous 
predecessor  Bacon,  was  incapable,  notwithstanding  his  great 
talents,  of  resisting  the  potency  of  a  bribe.  He  sold  places  and 
preferments,  and  traflficked  with  the  funds  of  the  suitors  of  his 
court.  He  managed  to  acquire  immense  wealth  by  the  abuse  of 
his  high  trust,  as  guardian  of  the  persons  and  estates  of  orphans 
and  lunatics.  His  enemies,  urged  on  by  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
resolved  to  impeach  him,  and  they  did  so  effectually.  After  a 
protracted  trial  of  twenty  days  before  the  House  of  Peers,  he  was 
convicted,  was  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  thirty  thousand  pounds, 
and  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  till  the  amount  was  paid.  To 
annoy  the  prince,  the  king  promised  the  fallen  chancellor  that  he 
would  himself  repay  him  the  amount  of  the  fine ;  but  the  promise 


68  mSTOEY  OF  THE  FOIIE  GEOKGES. 

was  never  fulfilled.  The  disgrace  and  ruin  which  overwhelmed 
the  earl  soon  put  a  termination  to  his  life;  he  predicted  the 
day  of  his  death  to  Dr.  Pearce,  his  intimate  friend ;  and  died  ac- 
cordingly, more  sagacious  as  a  prophet  than  he  had  been  incor- 
ruptible as  a  judge.  He  was  succeeded  as  chancellor  by  Sir 
Peter  King,  Baron  of  Ockham.* 

This  period  was  also  signalized  by  the  return  of  the  cel- 
ebrated Lord  Bolingbroke  to  England.  During  his  exile  he 
had  resided  chiefly  in  France.  Having  gained  the  influence  of 
the  king's  mistress,  Madame  Keilmansegge,  by  immense  bribes, 
her  agency  gradually  softened  the  hostility  of  her  royal  lover. 
Sir  Eobert  Walpole  was  too  astute  to  array  his  authority  in  op- 
position to  that  of  the  omnipotent  Keilmansegge,  and  he  did  not 
oppose  the  return  of  the  expelled  Jacobite.  A  bill  was  accord- 
ingly introduced  into  Parliament,  and  passed,  restoring  to  him 
his  forfeited  estates,  but  not  permitting  him  to  resume  his  seat 
in  the  House  of  Lords.  The  haughty  nobleman  returned  to 
England  more  incensed  in  consequence  of  what  Walpole  had  fail- 
ed to  obtain  for  him,  than  grateful  for  what  had  actually  been 
bestowed.  He  immediately  joined  the  party  of  the  Tories,  with 
whom  he  united  that  portion  of  the  Whig  party  which  was  led 
by  the  eloquent  Pulteney ;  who,  after  being  for  many  years  the 
associate  and  partisan  of  Walpole,  deserted  him,  along  \vith 
many  followers,  because  he  believed  that  the  premier  had  not  re- 
warded his  services  with  sufficient  munificence  and  rapidity. 
Pulteney  and  Bolingbroke  were  party  leaders  of  extraordinary 
ability.  The  opposition  which  they  made  to  the  administration 
of  Eobert  Walpole,  was  more  desperate  and  effective  than  any 
other  which  he  encountered  during  his  whole  political  career. 
They  were  joined  by  Sir  William  Windham,  the  able  and  ac- 

*  This  excellent  person  soon  ascertained  that  his  abilities  did  not  adapt  him 
to  the  high  post  to  which  he  had  been  promoted,  and  he  resigned.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Lord  Talbot,  one  of  the  most  gifted  men  of  his  time.  Talbot's  death 
occurred  in  a  short  period  after  his  promotion.  This  rapid  series  of  changes  in 
the  highest  judicial  office  in  the  realm,  was  terminated  by  the  appointment  of 
Sir  Philip  York,  Barou  Hardwicke,  who  presided  in  the  Court  of  Chancery 
during  nineteen  years. 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FTEST.  ,      G9 

knowledged  head  of  the  old  Tory  party.  Against  their  com- 
bined intrigues,  eloquence,  and  activity.  Sir  Robert  battled  with 
the  energy  and  ability  of  an  intellectual  giant,  during  twenty- 
three  years ;  but  he  was  compelled  at  last  to  succumb,  though 
he  did  it  with  honor  and  gracefulness,  to  their  protracted  and 
unremitting  hostilities.* 

The  peculiar  qualities  of  this  celebrated  triumvirate  of  states- 
men deserve  a  more  minute  delineation.  There  were  two  Pul- 
teneys,  William  and  Daniel.  The  latter  was  remarkable  only 
for  his  superior  capacity  for  business,  and  his  familiar  acquaint- 
ance with  foreign  affairs.  He  bore  the  same  relation  to  his 
more  celebrated  relative  that  Horace  Walpole  maintained 
toward  his  brother  Eobert ;  he  was  guided  in  his  political  con- 
duct solely  by  the  dictation  of  William,  and  never  ventured 
to  lead.  William  Pulteney  was  the  heir  of  immense  wealth, 
and  was  descended  from  a  highly  honorable  and  even  noble 
family.  Having  entered  Parliament  at  an  early  age,  he  soon 
distinguished  himself  by  his  superior  and  powerful  eloquence. 
One  of  the  most  competent  judges  of  those  times.  Speaker  On- 
slow, represents  him  as  "  having  the  most  popular  parts  for  pub- 
lic speaking  of  any  man  he  ever  knew."f  His  orations  were 
unequalled  for  the  polish  and  beauty  of  their  style,  for  the  spirit 
and  effect  which  characterized  their  delivery.  His  most  un- 
studied speeches  exhibited  the  same  correctness  and  elegance 
which  adorned  the  most  mature  and  labored  effusions  of  other 
men.  Every  sentence  and  every  word  seemed  to  be  placed  with 
such  singular  skill  and  with  such  perfect  taste,  that  no  improve- 
ment could  be  made  upon  them  by  elaborate  and  protracted 
scTutiny.  His  wit  was  inexhaustible,  his  sarcasm  scathing. 
Robert  Walpole  candidly  acknowledged  that  he  feared  Pulteney's 
tongue  far  more  than  he  feared  any  other  man's  sword.     To  the 

*  One  of  the  agencies  which  they  employed  against  the  minister  was  a 
newspaper  entitled  the  Country  Journal  or  Craftsman,  which  was  edited  by 
Nicholas  Amhurst,  under  the  name  of  Caleb  Anvers,  which  did  great  execution 
upon  the  ranks  of  the  ministerial  party.      WrigMs  England,  tkc,  Vol.  I.,  p.  132. 

t  Vide  Cox£s  Life  of  Wdlfole,  Appendix  3. 


70  HISTOET  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEGES. 

weight  of  such  intellectual  powers  was  added  the  influence  derived 
from  an  irreproachable  moral  character,  and  from  high  family  con- 
nections. The  great  fault  which  marked  his  career  was  his  deadly 
opposition  to  the  ministry  of  Walpole,  simply  from  motiv^es  of 
personal  jealousy.  He  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  measures 
of  that  great  minister  were  judicious  and  wise  ;  that  they  were 
intended,  by  their  pacific  influence,  to  withhold  the  nation  from 
expensive  and  destructive  wars  in  which  it  had  no  real  interest, 
and  from  which  it  could  derive  no  possible  advantage  ;  and  yet 
the  policy  of  Pulteney,  and  of  the  powerful  party  which  he  led, 
aimed  at  inflaming  the  minds  of  the  people  with  insane  animosi- 
ties and  brutal  passions ;  at  plunging  Europe  into  calamitous 
and  unnecessary  conflicts  ;  at  the  unprincipled  abandonment  of 
allies,  and  the  unjustifiable  breaking  of  treaties  ;  at  the  degrada- 
tion of  the  monarchy,  the  overthrow  of  a  capable,  prudent,  and 
sagacious  ministry,  and  the  triumph  of  insensate  faction.  To 
attain  these  ignoble  ends,  all  the  vast  intellectual  powers  of  Pul- 
teney  were  expended  ;  and  when  at  last  he  triumphed,  the  throne 
on  which  he  proudly  took  his  seat,  crumbled  instantly  beneath 
him  ;  his  partisans  were  divided  by  the  most  furious  rivalry 
and  hostility  ;  and  Pulteney  became  one  of  the  most  unpopular 
of  men,  both  with  his  own  former  friends,  with  the  party  whom 
he  had  vanquished,  and  with  the  nation  at  large,  who  ever  at- 
tained the  summit  of  political  power  in  England. 

Sir  William  Windham  was  a  much  less  brilliant  statesman 
than  Pulteney,  but  a  much  more  substantial  and  reliable  one.* 
Though  descended  from  a  noble  family,  his  early  education  had 
been  somewhat  neglected ;  but  he  had  drawn  from  actual  con- 
verse with  able  statesmen,  and  especially  from  his  intimacy  with 
Bolingbroke,  that  practical  and  available  knowledge  which  adapted 
him,  in  connection  with  his  superior  natural  gifts,  to  lead  in 
the  accomplishment  of  great  results.  Speaker  Onslow  said  re- 
specting him  :  "  In  my  opinion,  every  thing  about  him  seemed 
great,  the  most  made  for  a  great  man  of  any  one  I  have  known 
in  this  age."  He  was  an  excellent  debater,  and  an  able  counsel- 
lor.    He  possessed  perfect  honesty  of  purpose,  unflinching  consis- 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FIEST.  71 

tcncy  and  steadiness  of  principle.  His  style  of  speaking  was 
solid  and  argumentative.  He  never  used  a  figure  or  uttered  a 
witticism  in  his  speeches  ;  yet  few  orators  ever  produced  a  deeper 
effect  upon  the  minds  of  his  auditors.  At  an  early  age  he  de- 
clared himself  an  ardent  Jacobite,  mingled  in  their  councils,  and 
was  imprisoned  on  suspicion  of  being  concerned  in  the  rebellion 
of  1715.  At  a  later  period  of  life,  he  became  convinced  of  the 
impossibility  of  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts,  and  confined  him- 
self to  the  support  and  the  advocacy  of  Tory  principles  and 
measures.  His  opposition  to  Walpole  was  based  on  conviction, 
and  not  dictated  by  personal  enmity.  Conscious  of  honest  in- 
tentions, he  was  bold  and  dauntless  in  spirit ;  and  his  dissimi- 
larity in  many  respects  to  his  two  celebrated  associates  added 
an  element  of  power  to  their  coalition  which  aided  essentially  in 
their  ultimate  but  fruitless  triumph. 

Bolingbroke  was  nevertheless  the  most  gifted  and  the  most 
remarkable  member  of  this  famous  triumvirate.  His  intimate 
friend,  Dean  Swift,  said  of  him  with  some  show  of  truth,  that  at 
a  certain  period,  "  he  had  in  his  hands  half  the  business  of  the 
nation,  and  the  applause  of  the  whole."*  Fifteen  years  elapsed 
between  his  entrance  into  Parliament  and  his  attainder  and  flight ; 
yet  during  that  brief  interval,  he  secured  the  first  place  among 
the  great  masters  of  eloquence,  and  won  a  literary  reputation 
which  classed  him  among  the  ornaments  of  the  Augustan  age  of 
English  literature.f  As  an  orator,  his  is  the  singular  and  per- 
haps the  solitary  fate,  to  have  held  the  first  rank  in  the  estima- 
tion of  his  contemporaries,  and  yet  not  to  have  left  a  solitary  line 
of  his  spoken  effusions  on  record,  for  the  scrutiny  and  admira- 
tion of  posterity.  Nor  is  it  strange  that  William  Pitt,  when 
reflecting  on  this  unusual  circumstance,  should  exclaim,  that  he 
would  regard  the  possession  of  one  of  Bolingbrokc's  great  ora- 

*  See  his  "  Journal  to  Stella,"  August,  1711. 

+  Goldsmith  says  that  "  Bolingbroke  discovered  a  degree  of  genius  and  as- 
siduity that,  perhaps,  had  never  been  known  before  to  be  united  in  one  person, 
to  the  same  degree."  Life  of  Bolinghrolce,  Goldsmith's  Miscel.  Works,  Vol. 
IK,  p.  4:1.  f 


7'2  HISTOET   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOKGES. 

tions,  as  a  literary  treasure  more  to  be  desired  and  valued  than 
the  restoration  of  all  the  perished  intellectual  products  of  the 
ancient  world — of  Cicero's  translations  from  the  orations  of 
Demosthenes,  or  the  lost  books  of  Livy  and  Tacitus.  Nor 
will  this  estimate  seem  absurd  or  exaggerated  when  we  re- 
member the  natural  and  acquired  attributes  and  qualities  of  this 
great  man.  His  intellect  was  one  of  immense  power,  sagacity,  and 
compass  ;  and  it  had  been  from  his  youth,  carefully  and  elabor- 
ately cultivated.  At  Eton  he  laid  the  foundation,  broad  and 
deep,  of  his  subsequent  attainments.  He  was  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  Latin  writers,  nor  was  his  acquaintance  with  Greek 
literature  insignificant.*  Careful  study  had  made  him  at  home 
in  every  department  of  thought,  which  had  been  adorned  and  il- 
lustrated by  the  superior  intellects  of  his  own  country.  His  knowl- 
edge of  universal  history  was  accurate ;  and  his  mind  was  capa- 
ble of  abstruse  and  long-continued  speculations  in  morals  and 
philosophy,  the  monuments  and  products  of  which  yet  remain 
in  his  works.  He  well  understood  the  nature  of  the  human 
mind,  and  the  acutenesss  of  his  understanding  enabled  him  to 
explore  the  utmost  depths  of  metaphysical  and  ethical  specula- 
tion,! Of  him  it  may  be  said,  that  no  statesman  or  orator  of 
any  age,  except  perhaps  Cicero  alone,  brought  with  him  into  the 
struggles  and  conflicts  of  the  Senate,  so  thorough  an  acquaintance 
with  the  principles  of  intellectual  and  moral  science,  or  such 
varied  and  abundant  mental  resources. 

The  physical  attributes  of  Bolingbroke  were  admirably  adapt- 
ed to  promote  his  success  as  an  orator  and  legislator.     His  per- 

*  Bolingbroke  furnished  his  friend,  Alexander  Pope,  with  a  prose  essay  con- 
taining all  the  original  and  striking  thoughts  which  the  latter  afterward  elab- 
orated into  his  celebrated  "Essay  on  Man."  Vide  Latter  from  Dr.  Blair  in 
liomoelVs  Johnson,  I.,  p.  140. 

+  Lord  Chesterfield  asserts  that,  "  though  nobody  spoke  and  wrote  better  on 
philosophy  than  Lord  Bolingbroke,  no  man  in  the  world  had  less  share  of  philos- 
ophy than  himself;  that  the  least  trifle,  such  as  the  over-roasting  of  a  leg  of 
mutton,  would  strangely  disturb  and  rufHe  his  temper ;  and  that  his  passions 
constantly  got  the  better  of  his  judgment."  Lord  Chesterjield' s  Works,  by  Dr. 
Maly,  Vol.  L,  p.  283.  ' 


LIFE  AKD   KEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   FIRST.  IS 

son  was  tall  and  well  proportioned.  His  countenance  was  hand- 
some. All  his  features  were  symmetrical  and  expressive.  His 
morals,  indeed,  were  of  the  worst  description,  and  in  an  age 
abandoned  to  every  vice,  he  exceeded  all  others  in  his  licentious- 
ness. But  this  stigma  chiefly  appertains  to  the  period  of  his 
youth  and  early  manhood.  In  later  life,  without  any  change 
having  taken  place  in  his  principles,  he  lost  the  ability,  and  per- 
haps the  inclination,  to  commit  his  former  excesses.  His  spirit 
was  manly  and  generous  ;  nor  was  there  any  thing  mean  or 
sordid  in  his  character.  In  conversation  he  was  exceedingly 
affable  and  fascinating.  He  captivated  every  one  by  whom  he 
was  approached,  as  much  by  the  suavity  and  sweetness  of  his 
manners,  as  by  the  commanding  vigor  and  superiority  of  his  un- 
derstanding. He  entered  Parliament  as  a  Tory.  Such  had 
been  the  political  faith  of  his  ancestors.  He  became  the  most 
able  and  active  supporter  of  Queen  Anne,  first  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  afterward  in  the  House  of  Lords.  As  one  of  the  min- 
isters of  the  queen,  he  exercised  almost  absolute  power  until  the 
period  of  her  sudden  death.  He  plotted,  previous  to  that  event, 
with  great  skill  and  earnestness,  for  the  exclusion  of  the  House 
of  Hanover,  and  for  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts.  On  the  death  of 
his  royal  mistress  he  was  impeached ;  when,  conscious  of  his  guilt, 
and  of  his  inability  to  make  good  his  defence,  he  fled  to  the  con- 
tinent. Having  arrived  in  France,  he  immediately  entered  the 
service  of  the  Pretender,  and  was  made  by  him  Secretary  of 
State.  This  promotion  furnished  unanswerable  proof,  had  such 
been  wanting,  of  the  guilt  of  the  fugitive  statesman.  After  the 
failure  of  the  rebellion  of  1715,  Lord  Mar,  one  of  the  most  trust- 
ed supporters  of  the  Pretender,  succeeded  in  overturning  the 
confidence  which  that  prince  had  reposed  in  Bolingbroke,  and 
he  was  dismissed  from  his  office.*   In  revenge  he  instantly  forsook 

*  Various  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  this  dismissal.  The  most  probable 
is  that  Bolingbroke  had  become  disgusted  with  the  want  of  sagacity  and  pru- 
dence displayed  by  the  chief  friends  of  the  Pretender,  and  ceased  to  take  an 
active  or  sanguine  interest  in  their  movements,  as  being,  in  his  judgment,  per- 
fectly hopeless.  See  Memoirs  of  the  Court  of  England,  dtc,  ly  John  II.  Jesse. 
Vol.  II.,  p.  103.    Bolingbroke's  character  might  be  thus  briefly  summed  up  :  Na- 

4 


74 


HISTOET  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEGES. 


the  service  of  the  Pretender,  and  became  his  bitter  and  unrelent- 
ing foe.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining  permission  to  return  to  Eng- 
land through  the  influence  of  one  of  the  king's  mistresses,  whom 
J\e  had  bribed  with  an  immense  sum ;  and  he  then  joined  the 
opposition  against  Walpole,  which  he  continued  to  support  till 
the  fall  of  that  minister.  The  writings  of  Bolingbroke  still  re- 
main the  most  noble  and  enduring  monument  of  his  genius,  and 
bear  evidence  of  a  powerful  and  capacious  intellect.  He  died  at 
the  age  of  seventy-four,  having  suffered  intense  agonies  from  a 
cancer  in  the  face,  which  terminated  his  life.  The  chief  blemish 
in  the  character  of  this  celebrated  man,  was  the  fact  that  he  en- 
tertained the  cheerless  and  pernicious  doctrines  of  infidelity,  and 
that  he  prided  himself  in  the  possession  of  the  bad  pre-eminence 
which  he  held  as  a  philosophical  atheist. 

Such  were  the  character  and  the  qualities  of  the  three  men 
who  headed  the  opposition  against  the  administration  of  Wal- 
pole, during  the  reign  of  George  I.,  and  subsequently  during  the 
supremacy  of  his  son  and  successor.  They  formed  for  many 
years  the  most  prominent  and  imposing  figures  in  the  living 
history  of  that  stormy  and  eventful  era. 

George  I.  returned  in  safety  from  his  visit  to  his  hereditary 
dominions.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  elevate  his  favorite  mis- 
tress, Madame  Keilmansegge,  to  the  peerage.  She  was  now  made 
Countess  of  Leinster  in  Ireland,  Baroness  of  Brentford  and  Coun- 
tess of  Darlington  in  England.  The  illegitimate  daughter  of  the 
king  by  the  Duchess  of  Kendal,  Melusina  de  Schulenburg,  was 
also  created  Baroness  of  Aldborough  and  Countess  of  Walsing- 
ham.  The  weakness  and  complacency  of  the  monarch  could 
scarcely  be  expected  to  go  farther. 

On  the  2d  of  November,  1726,  the  unfortunate  Sophia  Doro- 
thea, wife  of  the  King  of  England,  expired,  after  a  tedious  illness, 
in  the  castle  of  Ahlden.  She  had  endured  a  cheerless  captivity  of 
more  than  thirty  years,  during  twelve  of  which  her  husband  had 

ture  had  been  prodigal  to  him  of  all  her  best  gifts ;  and  he  therefore  became 
conspicuous  in  the  temples  of  science,  fascinating  in  the  haunts  of  pleasure, 
eloquent  in  the  halls  of  state,  grand  and  potent  among  men  everywhere. 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FIRST.  75 

occupied  the  British  throne.  Before  she  expired  she  jlessed  her 
children,  forgave  her  enemies  and  oppressors,  and  solemnly 
summoned  her  absent  husband,  the  chief  cause  of  her  unjust 
sufferings,  as  she  asserted,  to  meet  her  at  the  judgment  bar  of 
God  within  a  year  after  her  own  death.  We  will  meet  this 
prophetic  summons  again,  before  we  conclude  the  history  of  her 
husband's  career.  As  soon  as  he  was  informed  of  the  death  of 
the  princess,  he  ordered  an  announcement  to  be  made  in  the 
Gazette  to  the  effect  that  a  Duchess  of  Ahlden  had  expired  at  her 
residence  in  Germarny ;  but  no  allusion  was  made  to  the  fact  that 
in  her  death  the  monarch  had  lost  a  wife  and  his  children  a 
mother.  When  he  heard  that  the  court  of  Berlin,  over  which 
his  daughter  presided,  went  into  mourning  in  consequence  of  this 
event,  his  wrath  became  furious  beyond  measure. 

To  console  himself  for  this  affront  after  his  own  peculiar 
fashion,  George  I.  immediately  took  a  new  mistress.  This  per- 
son was  the  half  sister  of  the  starving  poet  Savage ;  and  her 
mother  was  the  repudiated  wife  of  the  Earl  of  Macclesfield,  who 
afterward  married  Colonel  Brent.  Unlike  all  the  other  concu- 
bines of  the  monarch.  Miss  Brent  was  allowed  to  reside  in  the 
palace  of  St.  James.  Their  intercourse  continued  until  it  was 
unexpectedly  terminated  by  the  death  of  the  king,  who  had  in- 
tended— notwithstanding  the  intense  disgust  which  was  already 
expressed  by  the  British  nobility  and  populace  at  the  honors 
which  he  had  previously  conferred  upon  his  ridiculous  mistresses 
— to  elevate  this  woman  to  the  peerage,  and  thus  inflict  upon  it 
another  disgrace.  The  deportment  of  the  enfeebled  monarch  to- 
ward this  favorite  of  his  old  age,  was  more  childish  and  more 
contemptible  than  that  which  had  characterized  his  earlier  con- 
nections ;  and  was  the  cause  of  serious  and  angry  disputes  with 
the  members  of  the  royal  family.  Nevertheless,  Miss  Brent  re- 
mained supreme  and  triumphant  in  her  influence,  until  the  de- 
parture of  the  king  on  his  last  visit  to  the  continent. 


CHAPTEE   VI. 

Meeting  of  Parliament— The  Eoyal  Speecli — Loyal  Address  of  the  Legislature — ^Tho 
Eestoration  of  Gibraltar — Threatened  Hostilities  with  France — Sudden  Establish- 
ment of  Peace — Domestic  and  Foreign  Prosperity — Last  Visit  of  George  L  to  Han- 
over— His  Illness  and  Death — Character  of  this  Monarch — His  neglect  of  Literature 
— Survey  of  his  Keign — Joseph  Addison — Dean  Swift — His  Genius  and  Irreligion— 
Writings  of  Alexander  Pope — John  Gay — Sir  Isaac  Newton — John  Flamsteed — State 
of  Morals  and  Eeligion  in  England  during  the  Eeign  of  George  I. 

In  January,  1727,  both  Houses  of  the  British  Parliament 
again  convened.  This  was  destined  to  be  their  last  assemblage 
during  the  reign  of  George  I. ;  but  before  the  termination  of  his 
career,  this  monarch  was  fated  to  anticipate  and  to  prepare  for 
a  conflict  with  several  powerful  European  States ;  and  thus, 
during  the  closing  months  of  his  long  career,  to  renew  the 
favorite  employments  and  associations  of  his  youth. 

After  the  opening  of  Parliament  the  king  informed  the 
members,  in  a  speech  from  the  throne,  that  an  offensive  and  de- 
fensive alliance  had  recently  been  concluded  between  the  Spanish 
monarch  and  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  the  object  of  which 
treaty  was  to  wrest  the  fortress  of  Gibraltar  from  the  English ; 
to  place  the  Pretender  upon  the  throne  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  to 
injure  in  various  ways  the  commercial  and  political  privileges 
and  interests  of  the  nation.  The  king  terminated  his  address  by 
saying,  that  the  Spanish  monarch  had  ordered  his  ambassador  to 
quit  the  realm,  after  having  delivered  to  the  ministers  an  offensive 
memorial  which  contained  a  formal  and  peremptory  demand  for 
the  restitution  of  Gibraltar. 

In  reply  to  the  royal  speech,  the  Commons  voted  a  most 
patriotic  and  zealous  address.     They  expressed  their  determina- 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE  FIRST.  77 

tion  to  support  his  majesty  with  their  lives  and  fortunes  against 
all  his  enemies ;  to  raise  the  supplies  which  %vere  necessary  to 
provide  such  armaments  as  might  be  requisite  to  vanquish  the 
hostile  powers ;  and  to  defend  to  the  last  extremity  the  succes- 
sion and  supremacy  of  the  House  of  Hanover.  The  utmost  en- 
thusiasm prevailed  in  the  Commons  ;  and  m  vain  did  Pultency 
and  Windham  exert  all  their  influence  and  eloquence  to  diminish 
the  patriotic  ardor  which  was  exhibited.  In  vain  did  they  de- 
clare that  it  was  sufficient  on  such  an  occasion  to  return  thanks 
to  his  majesty  for  his  gracious  speech,  and  appoint  a  time  for 
taking  into  consideration  the  measures  which  were  proper  in 
reference  to  it ;  without  pledging  themselves  in  so  precipitate  a 
manner  to  support  measures  of  the  nature  and  wisdom  of  which 
they  were  still  ignorant.  To  no  purpose  did  they  assert,  what 
indeed  was  very  just  in  itself,  that,  in  reference  to  the  means  of 
offence  or  of  defence  to  be  adopted,  the  advice  of  the  House 
might  be  as  necessary  and  as  useful  as  its  support ;  that  in  so 
great  an  emergency  it  was  incumbent  upon  them  to  deliberate 
calmly  and  intelligently  ;  and  that,  to  effect  this  end,  it  would 
be  expedient  that  those  papers  and  other  evidences  upon  which 
his  majesty  had  based  his  own  convictions,  should  be  submit- 
ted to  the  scrutiny  of  the  House.  Sarcastic  inquiries  were  even 
made  by  the  opposition  in  reference  to  the  fleets  which  were  to 
convey  the  Pretender  to  the  shores  of  his  ancestors ;  and 
whether  he  proposed  to  embark  on  the  floating  island  of  Gulli- 
ver as  a  means  of  transportation.  It  was  boldly  asserted  by 
others,  that  the  alarms  of  the  sovereign  were  all  a  delusion ; 
that  not  the  slightest  ground  existed  for  them  ;  and  that  the  for- 
tunes of  the  Pretender  at  that  moment  were  more  depressed  and 
more  desperate  than  they  had  ever  been  since  the  expulsion  of 
the  House  of  Stuart  from  the  British  throne.  But  none  of  these 
arguments  availed  any  thing  in  moderating  the  defiant  and 
patriotic  enthusiasm  which  prevailed ;  and  the  address  to  the 
king  was  carried  by  an  overwhelming  majority  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty-one  votes  against  eighty-one. 

The  only  assertion  made  in  the  royal  speech  which  contained 


78  HISTOEY   OF  THE  FOTJE  GEOEGES. 

any  show  of  truth,  was  that  which  referred  to  the  restitution  of 
Gibraltar  to  the  King  of  Spain.  The  claim  of  that  monarch  was 
chiefly  founded  upon  a  promise  which  had  been  given  by  George 
I.  himself,  to  that  effect,  in  an  autograph  letter  addressed  by  him 
in  1721  to  the  Spanish  monarch.  In  that  letter  the  following 
language  occurred :  "  I  have  learned  with  great  satisfaction, 
from  the  report  of  my  ambassador  at  your  court,  that  your 
majesty  is  at  last  resolved  to  remove  the  obstacles  which  have 
for  some  time  delayed  the  entire  accomplishment  of  our  union. 
Since,  from  the  confidence  which  your  majesty  expresses  toward 
me,  I  may  look  upon  the  treaties  which  have  been  in  question 
between  us  as  re-established ;  and  that,  accordingly,  the  instru- 
ments necessary  for  carrying  on  the  trade  of  my  subjects  will  be 
delivered  out ;  I  do  no  longer  hesitate  to  assure  your  majesty  of 
my  readiness  to  satisfy  you  with  regard  to  your  demand  touching 
the  restoration  of  Gibraltar,  promising  you  to  make  use  of  the 
first  favorable  opportunity  to  regulate  this  article  with  the  con- 
sent of  my  Parliament."*  This  letter  had  been  written  by 
George  I.  at  the  period  of  its  date,f  in  order  to  aid  in  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  purposes  which  were  at  that  time  the  sub- 
ject of  negotiation  with  the  Court  of  Madrid  ;  and  its  only  pur- 
pose, doubtless,  was  to  flatter  and  deceive  the  Spanish  monarch, 
without  any  ulterior  intention  of  fulfilment,  or  even  of  remem- 
brance. 

The  address  of  the  king  and  the  subsequent  response  of  Par- 
liament to  it,  gave  great  oflfence  to  the  Court  of  Vienna.  The 
emperor  ordered  Count  Palin,  his  minister  at  London,  to  present 
a  remonstrance  to  the  British  Court,  charging  the  king  with  hav- 
ing made  calumnious  misrepresentations,  and  assertions  void  of 
all  foundation ;  and  declaring  that  no  such  treaty  whatever  had 
been  entered  into  between  his  imperial  majesty  and  the  King  of 
Spain,  cither  in  reference  to  the  restitution  of  Gibraltar,  or  the 
restoration  of  the  Pretender.  The  Parliament  replied  to  this 
remonstrance  in  terms  equally  strong  ;  and  stigmatized  it  as  an 
insult  to  his  majesty,  and  a  base  and  vain  attempt  to  infuse  into 

*  Vide  the  Eardwiche  State  Ftipers.  t  June  tJie  First,  1721. 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  FIKST.  79 

the  minds  of  his  subjects,  a  distrust  of  the  royal  "word.  Lord 
Townshend  declared  in  the  House  of  Peers,  that  if  the  safety  of 
the  state  permitted  ministers  to  lay  before  their  lordships  the 
advices  in  possession  of  the  Government,  they  would  no  more 
doubt  the  existence  of  such  a  treaty,  than  they  would  if  they 
had  been  present  at  the  signing  of  it.  Count  Palin,  before  leaving 
the  kingdom,  was  ordered  by  his  master  to  publish  his  remon- 
strance. He  did  so,  adding  to  it  a  letter  from  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf,  the  imperial  chancellor,  containing  a  statement  of  the  facts 
of  the  case  according  to  his  version  of  them.  The  intemperate 
language  of  these  papers  gave  additional  offence  to  the  British 
Parliament ;  and  another  address  was  presented  to  the  king,  reit- 
erating, in  still  stronger  terms,  the  sentiments  contained  in  the 
previous  one,  and  commanding  Count  Palin  immediately  to  de- 
part the  kingdom. 

Preparations  for  the  approaching  conflict  were  now  made 
on  both  sides.  The  English  forces  were  augmented  by  sea  and 
land.  Thirty  thousand  Swedes,  Danes,  and  Hessians  were  taken 
into  the  British  service.  The  king  was  empowered,  by  an  act  of 
Parliament,  to  apply  such  sums  of  money  as  should  be  necessary 
for  making  good  the  expenses  and  engagements  which  had  been, 
or  should  be  incui-red,  before  the  25th  of  the  ensuing  September, 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  security  of  commerce,  and  re- 
storing the  tranquillity  of  Europe.  The  sum  of  three  hundred  and 
seventy  thousand  pounds  was  issued  in  exchequer  bills,  and  was 
charged  upon  the  surplus  produce  of  certain  duties  appertaining 
to  the  sinking  fund.  In  vain  did  the  opposition,  headed  by  Pul- 
teney  and  Windham,  thunder  forth  their  eloquent  harangues 
against  such  an  unwarrantable  delegation  of  authority  to  the 
sovereign,  and  the  reckless  appropriation  of  funds  which  belonged 
by  law  to  other  purposes,  to  the  sudden  exigencies  of  the  state. 
The  ministers  and  the  party  of  the  court  triumphantly  car- 
ried all  their  measures  by  great  and  decisive  majorities ;  and 
Parliament  was  at  length  prorogued  on  the  15th  of  May,  1727. 

The  only  actual  hostility  which  took  place,  in  consequence  ot 
these  disputes,  and  this  outburst  of  national  pride,  was  the  siege 


80  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

of  Gibraltar.  Sir  John  Norris,  indeed,  sailed  with  a  powerful 
fleet  to  the  Baltic,  where  he  was  joined  by  a  Danish  squadron. 
But  at  this  crisis  the  French  monarch,  Louis  XV.,  perceiving 
that  the  issues  at  stake  were  not  really  worth  the  important  con- 
sequences Avhich  would  result  from  continued  hostilities,  and 
being  further  influenced  by  grave  personal  considerations,  inter- 
posed his  friendly  ofiices  between  the  belligerents.  Prelimi- 
nary articles  of  accommodation  were  signed  in  June,  1727.  These 
articles  provided  that  hostilities  should  immediately  cease  ;  that 
the  charter  of  the  Ostend  India  Company  should  be  suspended 
for  seven  years ;  and  that,  after  the  lapse  of  four  months,  a  con- 
gress of  plenipotentiaries  should  be  convened  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
to  settle  the  terms  of  a  final  pacification.  That  congress  ac- 
cordingly met,  and  succeeded  in  adjusting  the  various  subjects  of 
controversy  which  had  so  nearly  disturbed  the  repose  and  in- 
jured the  prosperity  of  the  chief  nations  of  Europe. 

Fortune  thus  seemed  to  smile  propitiously  upon  the  aged  and 
royal  representative  of  the  house  of  Brunswick,  both  at  home 
and  abroad.  In  his  own  dominions,  his  administration  was  tri- 
umphant over  the  power  of  hostile  factions  ;  on  the  continent  he 
was  at  peace  with  all  his  rivals  and  enemies ;  his  title  to  the 
throne  was  respected  and  recognized  by  every  European  power ; 
and  the  head  of  the  Pretender  lay  low  in  imbecility  and  dis- 
grace. Several  years  had  elapsed  since  the  happy  monarch  visit- 
ed his  favorite  Hanover  ;  and  he  now  expressed  an  ardent  desire 
once  more  to  feast  his  eyes  upon  its  familiar  and  beloved  scenes. 
Accordingly,  he  embarked  at  Greenwich  with  a  suitable  retinue, 
on  the  3d  of  June,  1727 ;  and  after  a  favorable  voyage,  con- 
voyed by  a  large  fleet  of  ships,  his  majesty  arrived  at  Vaer,  in 
Holland,  on  the  7th.  He  travelled  thence  by  land  to  Utrecht, 
escorted  by  the  guards  to  the  frontiers  of  Holland.  He  reached 
Dalden  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night  on  the  9th,  still  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  good  health.  There  he  ate  a  hearty  supper ;  and  at  three 
o'clock  the  next  morning  he  resumed  his  journey.  According  to 
the  report  which  became  afterward  prevalent,  it  was  during  the 
succeeding  day  that  the  letter  of  his  deceased  wife,  containing  the 


LIFE  AND  EEION  OF  GEORGE  THE  FIEST.  81 

"  solemn  summons  to  the  judgment  bar  of  God  within  one  year 
after  her  death,"  was  given  him  while  riding  in  his  carriage ;  and 
the  same  popular  oracle  declared,  that  the  monarch  was  imme- 
diately seized  with  fainting  fits,  Avhich  continued  till  his  arrival  at 
the  episcopal  palace  of  Osnaburg.  During  his  progress  thither 
he  expressed  the  opinion  to  one  of  his  attendants,  that  "  he  was 
a  dead  man  ;  "  and  at  midnight  of  the  11th  of  June,  notwith- 
standing every  effort  of  his  physicians,  he  expired,  in  the  sixty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  thirteenth  of  his  reign.  The 
singular  appearance  of  his  countenance  after  death,  caused  the  ad- 
ditional rumor  to  become  prevalent  among  the  irreverent  mul- 
titude, that  the  devil  had  choked  the  king  to  death,  at  the 
instance  of  his  wife,  by  twisting  his  neck ! 

Thus  ended  the  career  of  George  I. — one  of  those  common- 
place and  ordinary  men  who,  by  the  force  of  propitious  accident, 
and  through  the  singular  influence  of  the  institution  of  monarchy, 
was  elevated  to  one  of  the  highest,  most  difficult,  and  most  re- 
sponsible positions  which  a  human  being  can  possibly  occupy. 
His  personal  character  has  never  been  the  subject  of  much  con- 
troversy. He  was  an  honest,  good-natured,  dull,  and  sensual  Ger- 
man gentleman,  whose  chief  enjoyment  consisted  in  the  society 
of  his  equally  heavy  and  stupid  German  mistresses,  in  drinking 
hot  punch,  in  eating  sauer-kraut,  and  in  smoking  his  huge  Hanove- 
rian pipe.  He  was  diffident  of  his  own  capacity,  and  therefore 
never  undertook  to  shine  among  his  courtiers  or  subordinates. 
He  hated  the  cares  and  burdens  of  royalty  ;  and  had  it  not  been 
that,  by  accepting  the  English  diadem  he  thereby  greatly  ag- 
grandized his  Hanoverian  dominions,  and  gave  them  a  superiority 
and  a  consequence  among  the  petty  and  contemptible  German 
principalities  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  it  is  probable  that 
he  would  have  declined  the  brilliant  but  difficult  post  to  which 
he  was  invited  by  the  suffrages  of  the  nation. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  intentions  of  George  I.,  in  the  ex 
ercise  of  his  royal  functions,  were  good ;  but  he  always  enter- 
tained a  strong  partiality  for  his  German  dominions,  and  would 

never  allow  any  measures  to  be  adopted  which,  however  bene- 
4* 


82  HI9T0EY  OF  THE  FOTJE  GEOEGES. 

ficial  they  might  have  been  to  England,  would  prejudice  the  in- 
terests of  his  hereditary  states.  It  was  his  great  good  fortune  to 
enjoy  the  sagacious  advice  and  able  assistance  of  Robert  Wal- 
pole, — one  of  the  most  profound  and  gifted  statesman  who  ever 
wielded  the  destinies  of  the  British  Empire ;  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable that,  had  it  not  been  for  this  propitious  circumstance, 
the  ignorance,  the  imbecility,  the  sensuality,  and  the  unpopular- 
ity of  George  I.  would  have  led  to  the  speedy  overthrow  of  the 
Hanoverian  dynasty  in  England,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Pre- 
tender to  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  George  I.  was  particularly 
unfortunate  and  indecorous  in  his  domestic  affairs.  His  wife 
during  his  reign  was  an  absent  and  detested  prisoner.  His  son 
and  successor  was  hostile  to  him  ;  and  by  that  hostility  he  inflict- 
ed much  indignity  and  mortification  on  his  father  and  sovereign. 
His  mistresses  were  all  ignorant,  frivolous,  and  mercenary  women, 
who  ruled  him  with  absolute  authority,  who  turned  their  influ- 
ence into  their  personal  profit,  and  their  royal  lover  into  popular 
contempt.  His  only  legitimate  daughter,  the  Queen  of  Prussia, 
was  married  to  the  most  detestable  rufiian  of  his  day,  and 
lived  a  live  of  ignominy  and  misery,  in  consequence  of  his  savage 
persecutions ;  yet  the  gross  and  heavy  nature  of  George  I.  ren- 
dered him  in  a  great  measure  insensible  to  the  depressing  influ- 
ence of  these  calamities.  He  possessed  some  military  talents, 
and,  possibly,  had  he  been  born  in  an  humbler  station,  might  have 
risen  to  the  distinction,  and  been  equal  to  the  duties,  of  a  general 
of  division.  He  understood  English  imperfectly,  and  spoke  it 
still  worse.  His  constant  effort  was  to  shift  the  responsibility 
of  the  direction  of  public  affairs  from  his  own  shoulders  to  those 
of  his  ministers  ;  thus  he  said  to  them  plainly  on  his  first  acces- 
sion :  "  I  will  do  as  you  advise,  and  thus  you  become  entirely 
answerable  for  every  thing  I  do."  He  was  parsimonious  in  his 
habits ;  and  the  only  persons  who  were  able  to  extort  money 
from  him  were  his  mistresses.  But  even  with  these  he  was  not 
lavish ;  and  he  allowed  them  knowingly  to  turn  their  influence 
with  him  to  the  aggrandizement  of  their  private  fortunes.  He 
was  no  patron  of  art ;  cared  nothing  for  the  advancement  of  lit- 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FIRST.  83 

erature  and  science  ;  was  fond  of  dramatic  performances  simply 
because  they  amused  and  diverted  him ;  and  had,  as  a  general 
thing,  a  cheerful  and  pleasant  frame  of  mind.  He  was,  in  fact, 
an  admirable  and  convenient  puppet,  by  whose  pliable  means  the 
machinery,  and  sometimes  the  mummery,  of  royalty  were  car- 
ried on  with  great  success  by  the  party  then  triumphant  in  Eng- 
land, headed  by  their  able  and  acute  leaders.  The  only  thing 
recorded  either  of  the  sayings  or  the  doings  of  George  I.  during 
his  whole  life,  which  reflects  any  credit  upon  him,  and  deserves 
to  be  handed  down  witlx  honor  to  posterity,  is  the  remark  which 
he  made  to  a  German  nobleman,  who  congratulated  him  on  be- 
ing the  sovereign  at  once  of  two  such  glorious  kingdoms  as  Eng- 
land and  Hanover.  He  replied  :  "  Rather  congratulate  me  on 
having  sucli  a  subject  as  Newton  in  the  one,  and  Leibnitz  in  the 
other  !  "  Yet  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  king  deserved  the  credit 
of  originality  in  making  this  remark  :  it  was  probably  the  echo 
of  some  graceful  compliment  paid  him  by  one  of  his  courtiers. 

Although  George  I.  did  not  extend  the  slightest  degree  of 
patronage  to  art,  science,  literature,  or  education,  in  his  English 
dominions,  they  all  flourished  in  a  very  considerable  degree 
without  his  assistance.  A  brief  sketch  of  the  most  eminent 
writers  who  adorned  this  reign,  may  form  a  fit  conclusion  to  the 
preceding  history  of  its  most  important  events. 

Joseph  Addison  deservedly  stands  at  the  head  of  those  men 
of  genius  who  adorned  the  era  of  the  first  George,  although  his 
fame  was  at  its  zenith,  and  the  larger  portion  of  his  life  had 
been  spent,  when  that  monarch  ascended  the  throne.  Addison 
was  the  son  of  a  distinguished  clergyman,  and  was  born  in 
1672.  He  entered  Oxford  University  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and 
soon  became  known  for  his  great  proficiency  in  Latin  poetry. 
He  subsequently  took  the  degrees  of  Bachelor  and  Master  of 
Arts  in  Magdalen  College.  His  first  poetical  essay  which  at- 
tracted attention  was  an  effusion  addressed  to  the  veteran  Dry- 
den,  who  was  then  at  the  termination  of  his  career.  About  this 
period  Addison  had  the  good  fortune  to  secure  the  favor  of  the 
Lord-keeper  Somers.     By  his  means  and  influence  King  William 


84  mSTOEY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEGES. 

rewarded  Addison  for  a  complimentary  poem  on  his  military- 
achievements,  with  a  pension  of  three  hundred  pounds  per  an- 
num. This  revenue  enabled  the  poet  to  indulge  his  passion  for 
foreign  travel ;  and  he  visited,  during  several  years,  the  most  in- 
teresting localities  of  Europe.  In  1701  he  returned  to  Eng- 
land, published  a  narrative  of  his  adventures,  and  dedicated  it, 
with  an  epistolary  poem,  to  Lord  Halifax.  In  1704  his  most 
celebrated  political  poem,  entitled  "  The  Campaign,"  appeared. 
Its  popularity  and  success  were  very  great.  He  was  immediate- 
ly rewarded  for  his  loyal  labors,  by  the  appointment  to  the  lu- 
crative post  of  Commissioner  of  Appeals.  He  subsequently 
employed  his  accomplished  powers  in  contributing  the  chief  papers 
which  adorn  the  Spectator,  the  Tatler,  and  the  Guardian.  He 
also  wrote  a  political  document  entitled  "  The  Freeholder." 
The  superior  and  unrivalled  excellence  of  these  various  essays, 
their  beauty  and  polish  of  diction,  their  clearness  and  force  of 
thought,  their  apt  and  effective  illustrations,  their  chaste  and 
polished  wit,  and  their  excellent  moral  tendency,  have  always 
been  conceded,  and  have  enrolled  these  productions,  without  a 
dissenting  voice,  among  the  most  perfect  and  valuable  products 
of  English  genius  and  English  literature. 

The  poetical  effusions  of  Addison  occupy  an  equally  elevated 
rank.  In  this  department  his  supremacy  may,  in  some  respects, 
be  disputed  by  Pope ;  but  it  must  be  admitted  that,  in  all  the 
higher,  grander,  more  elaborate  and  inventive  achievements 
of  the  muse,  Addison  excelled  his  rival.  Pope  could  never  have 
written  so  admirable  and  so  sublime  a  production  as  the  tragedy 
of  "  Cato."  In  truth.  Pope's  genius  was  totally  destitute  of  dra- 
matic power ;  and  in  his  own  favorite  domain,  in  the  produc- 
tion of  polished  and  euphonic  measures  of  jingling  verse,  he 
never  excelled  his  rival.  There  i^  nothing  in  the  "  Rape  of  the 
Lock  "  or  the  "  Temple  of  Fame "  superior  in  this  respect  to 
the  "  Letter  from  Italy "  or  the  "  Campaign."  The  personal 
character  of  Addison  was  decorous  and  prudent.  He  was  unhappy 
in  his  marriage  with  the  Countess  Dowager  of  Warwick,  which 
took  place  in  1716 ;  and  it  is  probable  that  his  domestic  inquie- 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OP  GEORGE  THE  FIRST.  85 

tudes  led  him  to  indulgence  in  the  only  vice  which  was  ever 
laid  to  his  charge.  His  excesses  in  the  use  of  wine  hastened  his 
death,  which  took  place  in  1719.  He  presented,  during  his 
whole  life,  a  favorable  contrast  to  all  the  wits  and  men  of  let- 
ters of  his  day,  excepting  Pope,  in  the  propriety  and  decorum 
of  his  conduct ;  and  his  benevolence  was  frequently  tested  and 
exhibited  by  the  sums  of  money  which  he  loaned,  but  in  reality 
gave,  to  his  thriftless  and  unfortunate  associate,  Sir  Richard 
Steele.  In  the  career  of  the  latter  wit  there  was  nothing 
which  deserves  especial  praise  or  mention.  His  intellectual 
eminence  was  chiefly  derived  from  his  connection  with  Addison  ; 
without  whose  aid  and  guidance  he  Avould  have  attained  a  much 
less  distinguished  place  in  literature  than  he  now  enjoys.  In  the 
personal  incidents  of  his  life,  there  was  little  that  reflected  credit 
upon  himself,  upon  his  associates,  or  upon  the  pursuits  to  which 
his  restless  and  anxious  existence  was  devoted.  The  incident 
which  confers  most  honor  upon  his  memory,  is  the  fact  that  he 
was  able  to  secure  the  friendship  of  such  a  man  as  Addison,  that 
he  retained  that  friendship  during  life,  and  that  his  name  and 
memory  will  ever  be  preserved  by  their  coimection  with  the 
literary  labors  of  his  more  gifted  and  illustrious  friend. 

Jonathan  Swift  was  the  next  great  literary  ornament  of  the 
reign  of  George  I.  This  powerful  and  eccentric  genius  was 
born  in  Dublin,  in  1GG7.  In  his  fifteenth  year  he  entered 
the  university  of  his  native  city,  where  he  spent  seven  years  in 
scholastic  and  learned  pursuits.  But  even  at  this  early  period, 
so  little  was  his  wayward  mind  controlled  by  the  dictates 
of  prudence  in  the  direction  of  his  studies,  that  after  so  long  a 
probation,  he  only  obtained  his  degree  speciaU  gratia.  His  first 
employment  was  in  the  household  of  Sir  William  Temple,  at 
Moor  Park,  where  his  position  was  one  of  inferiority  and  even 
of  degradation.  Quarrelling  with  this  patron,  as  was  naturally 
the  result,  he  took  orders  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  accept- 
ed an  invitation  from  the  Earl  of  Berkeley,  one  of  the  Lord 
Justices  of  Ireland,  to  accompany  him  thither  as  chaplain  and 
secretary.     He  now  began  to  distinguish  himself  by  his  talent 


86  mSTOET  OF  THE  FOUR  GE0EGE8. 

for  writing  satirical  and  humorous  verses.  After  Lord  Berke- 
ley's return  to  England,  Swift  obtained  his  living  at  Laracor,  in 
the  diocese  of  Meath,  where  he  resided  during  some  years.  He 
first  engaged  in  political  \vriting  in  1701.  In  1704  he  published 
the  well-known  "  Tale  of  a  Tub,"  in  which  production,  while  he 
displayed  his  extraordinary  powers  of  wit,  disgraced  himself 
by  sneering  at  virtue  and  religion. 

When  the  Tories  came  into  power  in  1710,  under  Queen 
Anne,  the  hopes  of  Swift  for  political  or  ecclesiastical  preferment 
rose  high,  in  consequence  of  his  friendly  relations  with  Harley  and 
Bolingbroke.  He  was  admitted  to  their  most  secret  councils,  on 
terms  of  equality ;  and  it  is  not  improbable,  that,  had  not 
doubts  generally  existed  as  to  his  belief  in  the  truth  and  divinity 
of  the  religion  of  which  he  was  a  professed  preacher,  he  would 
have  been  promoted  to  a  bishopric  in  England.  This  was  the 
great  object  of  his .  selfish .  ambition  ;  but  so  questionable  was 
his  reputation,  that  the  highest  preferment  which  his  friends 
were  able  or  disposed  to  confer  upon  him,  was  the  Deanery  of 
St.  Patrick's,  in  Dublin.  This  promotion  took  place  in  1713  ; 
the  death  of  the  queen  occurred  soon  after  ;  and  Swift  was  con- 
demned to  spend  the  long  remainder  of  his  life  in  unavailing 
regrets,  in  a  subordinate  rank,  in  a  place  of  abode  which  he 
detested,  and  beneath  the  slowly-gathering  shadows  of  hopeless 
melancholy  and  insanity. 

The  infidelity  and  irreligion  of  Dean  Swift  were  not  the 
only  defects  which  deformed  his  character.  His  relations  with 
the  female  sex  were  such  as  no  wise  or  good  man  will  justify. 
While  yet  a  young  man  he  had  attached  himself  to  a  young  lady 
whom  he  has  immortalized  imder  the  name  of  Stella ;  who  was 
the  handsome  and  amiable  daughter  of  Sir  William  Temple's 
steward.  Soon  after  his  first  removal  to  Ireland,  he  invited  her 
to  join  him.  In  1716  he  was  secretly  married  to  her ;  but  it  does 
not  appear  that,  either  before  or  after  the  ceremony,  there  ever 
was  any  cohabitation  between  them.  Previous  to  this  event,  in 
1712,  the  Dean  had  been  charmed  with  the  wit  and  beauty  of 
Esther  Vanhomrigh,  a  resident  of  London.    Upon  her  he  has  con- 


LIFE  AKD  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FIKST.  87 

ferred  an  unenviable  immortality  under  the  name  of  Vanessa. 
The  great  fame  and  talents  of  her  admirer  soon  acquired  for  him 
a  despotic  sway  over  her  mind ;  and  for  some  years  they  seem  to 
have  corresponded,  she  being  under  the  expectation  of  eventual- 
ly becoming  his  wife.  After  the  Dean's  secret  marriage  with 
Stella,  matters  came  to  a  crisis,  during  which  the  conduct  of 
Swift  was  so  brutal  toward  both  of  his  admirers,  that  he  broke 
the  hearts  of  both.  Miss  Vanhomrigh  died  in  consequence  in 
1723  ;  Stella,  whose  marriage  with  the  Dean  he  had  always  re- 
fused to  publish,  lingered  in  misery  till  1728.  The  latter  years 
of  his  own  life  were  spent  in  idiocy.  For  some  months  before 
his  death,  he  maintained  a  total  and  morose  silence.  His  power- 
ful mind,  imbittered  by  many  provocations  and  disappointments, 
sank  into  imbecility  before  the  termination  of  his  physical  ca- 
reer. He  died  in  Dublin  in  1744,  in  his  seventy -eighth  year. 
The  peculiar  intellectual  merit  of  this  celebrated  writer  consisted 
in  his  readiness  in  rhyme,  in  his  complete  mastery  of  the  Eng- 
lish language,  similar  in  character  and  degree  to  that  which 
Byron  afterward  displayed ;  in  the  polish  and  elegance  of  his 
numbers  and  sentences,  in  the  humorous  and  sarcastic  power 
which  he  possessed.  His  "  Gulliver's  Travels,"  and  his  verses 
on  his  own  death,  furnish  an  extraordinary  instance  of  the  dis- 
play of  the  latter  qualities.  His  prose  writings  are  remarkable 
for  clearness  and  simplicity  ;  his  poems  are  equally  distinguished 
for  their  polished  measure,  their  sarcastic  wit,  and  their  striking 
originality.  Swift  was  a  gifted  man,  but  neither  a  great  man, 
a  good  man,  nor  a  happy  man. 

Alexander  Pope  occupies  a  position  in  the  literature  of  this 
era  midway  between  Addison  and  Swift.  He  was  not  as  inven- 
tive as  the  former,  nor  so  satirical  and  humorous  as  the  latter ; 
but  he  combined  some  of  the  best  qualities  of  both.  He  was 
born  in  1688.  His  family  were  Roman  Catholics ;  and  his  earliest 
instruction  was  derived  from  a  priest  of  that  Church,  who  taught 
him  the  Latin  and  Greek  language.  From  his  boyhood  he  ex- 
hibited a  fondness  for  poetry,  and  soon  began  to  weave  his 
fluent  numbers.      His  associations,   even   in   his    youth,  were 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEOES. 

chiefly  with  literary  persons  and  with  books.  The  most  re- 
markable acquaintance  of  this  early  period  of  his  life,  was  the 
comic  poet  Wycherley,  who  had  been  one  of  the  ornaments  of  the 
preceding  reign,  and  who,  at  the  period  of  Pope's  youth,  was 
ending  a  long  career  of  vice  and  literary  labor  by  an  old  age  of 
imbecility,  neglect,  and  misery. 

Pope's  first  publication  was  his  Pastorals,  which  were  print- 
ed in  Touson's  Miscellanies,  in  1709.  These  were  much  admired, 
and  immediately  brought  their  author  into  notice.  In  1712  his 
Eape  of  the  Lock  appeared ;  a  mock-heroic  poem,  in  which  he 
exhibits  more  invention  than  in  any  other  of  his  productions. 
In  1713  he  commenced  his  celebrated  translation  of  Homer's 
Iliad.  The  Odyssey  followed  it  in  subsequent  years.  His 
"  Dimciad  "  appeared  in  1728 ;  in  Avhich  poem  he  overwhelmed 
with  ridicule  all  those  rival  and  antagonistic  authors  who  had 
either  given  him  personal  offence,  or  whom  he  had  been  led  to  dis- 
like and  despise  for  any  reason  whatever.  The  diction  and  ver- 
sification of  this  poem  are  very  labored  and  polished ;  but  its 
imagery  is  often  gross  and  indelicate  ;  and  while  he  establishes 
his  claim  to  the  character  of  a  satirist,  by  its  keen  and  deadly 
intellectual  stabs,  his  temper  becomes  degraded  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  reader,  as  a  vindictive,  uncharitable,  and  irascible 
hater.  His  best  production  is  his  "  Essay  on  Man,"  and  for  all 
the  noble  sentiments  contained  in  that  work  he  was  indebted  to 
the  richer,  more  profound,  and  more  inventive  genius  of  his 
friend.  Lord  Bolingbroke.  Pope  expired  in  1744,  in  the  fifty- 
sixth  year  of  his  age,  having  achieved  the  reputation  of  being 
the  most  polished  writer  of  rhymes  who,  till  then,  had  illustrated 
and  adorned  the  English  language. 

In  addition  to  these  great  masters  in  the  department  of 
Belles-Lettres,  other  writers  of  less  distinction  added  the  lustre 
of  their  genius  to  the  reign  of  George  I.  Prominent  among 
these  was  John  Gay,  the  author  of  the  "  Beggar's  Opera," 
which  was  first  produced  in  1727,  and  attained  a  success  which 
has  been  rarely  equalled  in  the  annals  and  vicissitudes  of  the 
drama.     In   the  same  rank,  though  at  a  considerable  remove, 


LIFE  AND   REIGN   OF  GEOKGE  THE   FIEST.  89 

belong  the  names  of  Prior,  Parncll,  Rowe,  and  Tickell ;  all  of 
whom  have  left  productions  which  confer  enduring  honors  on  the 
English  muse.  The  chief  writers  of  fiction  during  this  period 
were  Defoe  and  Richardson. 

The  reign  of  George  I.  was  adorned  by  the  life  and  labors  of 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  the  most  illustrious  of  modern  philosophers, 
although  his  chief  fame  had  b«en  won  prior  to  the  accession  of 
that  monarch  to  the  throne.  Contemporary  with  him  were 
others,  who  displayed  no  meap  ability  in  the  same  high  sphere 
of  intellectual  endeavor.  The  most  gifted  of  these  was  John 
Flamstecd,  who,  as  an  astronomer  and  natural  philosopher,  was 
but  little  inferior  to  Sir  Isaac  himself.*  Associated  with  these 
in  the  same  pursuits  were  Ilalley,  Arbuthnot,  and  Gregory, 
— names  of  enduring  eminence  in  the  history  of  the  achievements 
of  philosophy  and  astronomy  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  ecclesiastical  profession,  during  this  reign,  contained  many 
churchmen  of  great  talents  and  learning.  As  to  the  state  of  re- 
ligion and  morals,  it  must  be  conceded  that  it  was  deplorable ; 
and  that  the  political  spirit,  the  party  hatred  and  worldly  ambi- 
tion exhibited  by  the  vast  majority  of  those  who  occupied  the 
various  ranks  of  the  clerical  and  episcopal  offices,  indicated  the 
prevalence  of  but  little  religious  feeling.  The  two  great  univer- 
sities were  regarded  as  the  nurseries  of  young  and  aspiring  ec- 
clesiastics, from  which  they  went  forth  to  gain  the  prizes  and 
win  the  renown  which  devotion  to  the  interests  of  their  political 
and  ecclesiastical  party  would  inevitably  secure  for  them.  The 
most  celebrated  ecclesiastics  of  this  era  were  Francis  Atterbury, 
bishop  of  Rochester,  Dr.  Wake,  afterward  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, and  Dr.  Hoadley,  bishop  of  Winchester  ;  all  of  whom 

*  It  is  one  of  the  many  unaccountable  phenomena  in  the  history  of  literature 
that  the  abilities  of  Flamstecd,  which  were  of  the  first  order,  have  been  suffered 
by  posterity  to  sink  into  oblivion,  while  they  have  ever  been  eager  to  accumulate 
extravagant  praise  on  the  overburdened  head  of  Newton.  The  latter  obtained 
some  of  his  most  important  discoveries  from  his  modest,  unobtrusive,  and  now  for- 
gotten friend.  See  "  An  Account  of  the  liev.  John  Flamsieed,  the  First  As- 
tronomer lioyal ;  Compiled  from  his  oivn  Manuscrijats,  dec.  By  Francis  £aily, 
F.B.S."    ito,  London,  1835. 


90  HISTOEY  OF  THE  FOUE  GEOEGES. 

were  worldly,  ambitious,  and  unscrupulous  prelates.  Of  the 
some  class  were  Dr.  Lockier, — the  friend  of  Pope  and  of  the 
most  dissolute  wits, — Dr.  Younger,  dean  of  Salisbury,  and  Dr. 
Chevenix,  bishop  of  Waterford.  A  single  circumstance,  based 
upon  the  most  reliable  historical  authority,  and  having  reference 
to  the  most  celebrated  churchman  in  the  kingdom,  will  serve  to 
illustrate  the  state  of  morals  which  then  prevailed,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, among  the  clergy  of  the  establishment,  in  all  their  ranks 
and  grades.  As  soon  as  the  death  of  Queen  Anne  was  announced, 
the  Duke  of  Ormond,  Lord  Mareshal,  and  Bishop  Atterbury,  all 
leading  Tories  and  Jacobites,  held  a  secret  meeting,  at  which 
the  bishop  earnestly  besought  Lord  Mareshal  to  go  forth  im- 
mediately, and  publicly  proclaim  the  Pretender  in  form.  The 
Duke  of  Ormond,  who  was  of  a  more  prudent  and  cautious 
temper,  desired  first  to  confer  on  the  subject  with  the  council. 
In  answer  to  this  proposal  the  right  reverend  prelate  exclaimed, 
in  great  excitement :  "  Damn  it,  you  know  very  well  that  things 
have  not  been  concerted  enough  for  that  yet ;  and  that  we  have 
not  a  moment  to  lose."  *  But  it  should  not  be  supposed  that, 
because  an  eminent  prelate  exhibited  such  irreligion  and  pro- 
fanity, there  were  no  men  of  piety  among  the  clergy.  It  must, 
however,  be  admitted  that  their  numbers  were  few,  their  posi- 
tions obscure,  and  their  influence  exceedingly  limited. 

*  Memoirs  of  the  Court  of  England,  from  the  Sevolution  of  1Q8S  to  th^  Dmth 
qf  George  11.    By  John  H.  Jesse.     Vol.  II.,  p.  153. 


PAKT  II. 

LIFE  AND  REIGN  OF  GEOEGE   THE  SECOND. 


CHAPTEE   I 


Birth  of  George  II.— His  Eemoval  to  England— His  Marriage — His  Court  in  Leicester 
House — Commanding  Talents  of  his  Wife — Her  Female  Favorites — Prince  Frederic 
— Hostility  between  him  and  his  Parents — The  Accession  of  George  II. — He  destroys 
his  Father's  "Will— His  Cabinet — He  retains  Eobert  "Walpole — Duke  of  Newcastle- 
Earl  of  Chesterfield— Lord  Carteret — His  Eemarkablo  Talents. 


George  Augustus,  only  son  of  George  I.  and  Sophia  Dorothea 
of  Zell,  was  born  at  Hanover  on  the  30th  of  October,  1683. 
His  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  under  the  special  tuition  and 
influence  of  his  talented  and  ambitious  grandmother,  Sophia, 
Electress  of  Hanover.  He  became  well  versed  in  the  usual 
routine  of  accomplishments  then  prevalent  among  princes,  and 
was  able  to  speak  Latin,  French,  and  English  with  fluency.  His 
person  was  small,  his  manners  stiff,  his  bearing  haughty  and 
consequential.  Ordinary  as  were  the  natural  abilities  of  George 
I.  those  of  his  illustrious  son  were  still  more  insignificant.  Had 
not  the  accident  of  his  birth  placed  him  in  a  position  of  eminent 
importance  and  influence,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  have 
passed  through  life  as  one  of  the  most  contemptible  of  men. 

On  the  accession  of  George  I.  to  the  throne  of  England,  in 
August,  1714,  Prince  George  accompanied  him  to  his  new  do- 
minions. But  previous  to  this  period,  in  1705,  the  heir  apparent 
had  married  Caroline  Wilhelmina  Dorothea,  the  daughter  of 


92  mSTOEY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEGES. 

John  Frederic,  ISIarquis  of  Brandenburg  Anspach,  a  lady  of  su- 
perior mind  and  polished  manners ;  to  whose  greater  intellectual 
strength  her  dajjper  husband  always  yielded  an  unconscious,  yet 
almost  absolute  obedience.  The  first  fruit  of  their  marriage  was 
Prince  Frederic,  whom  both  parents  cordially  hated  and  despised. 
Their  second  son,  William,  afterwards  Duke  of  Cumberland,  was 
always  their  favorite.  Nor  were  the  relations  which  existed  be- 
tween George  II.  while  Prince  of  Wales,  and  his  august  father, 
more  friendly  or  more  decorous.  They  did  not  speak  to  each  other 
during  some  years.*  Even  the  Princess  Caroline  was  regarded  by 
the  monarch  with  feelings  of  aversion,  and  he  indicated  his  sen- 
timents by  familiarly  calling  the  future  queen  of  England  a  she 
devil.  It  was  the  singular  eccentricity  of  George  I.,  that  he  hated 
all  the  members  of  his  own  family — those  whom  he  should  have 
loved ;  and  that  he  loved  only  his  selfish  and  perfidious  mistresses 
— those  whom  he  should  have  despised  and  shunned. 

Several  years  before  the  accession  of  George  II.,  he  removed 
his  residence  to  the  palace  located  in  "  Leicester  Fields,"  in  order 
to  be  removed  to  a  greater  distance  from  the  presence  of  his 
father.  Here  were  assembled  in  an  embryo  court,  all  those 
who  were  the  attached  friends  and  attendants  of  the  Prince  and 
Princess,  and  were  in  bad  odor  with  the  reigning  monarch.  The 
company  included  many  persons  remarkable  for  talents,  birth, 
beauty,  and  accomplishments ;  among  whom  were  Lord  Chester- 
field, Lord  Hervey,  Lord  Stanhope,  Miss  Lepel,  Lady  Walpole, 
Mrs.  Howard,  who  afterwards  became  the  mistress  of  the  sover- 
eign, and  especially  Miss  Bellenden,  the  most  beautiful  woman 
in  England.  It  was  not  long  l)efore  the  Prince  became  fascinated 
with  the  extraordinary  charms,  both  of  mind  and  person,  which 
this  lady  possessed ;  and  he  made  advances  to  her  which  could 
not  be  mistaken.  His  method  of  wooing  was  accordant  with 
the  inherent  insignificance  of  his  character.  Remembering,  and 
probably  even  imitating,  the  Grecian  myth  respecting  the  loves 
of  Jupiter  and  Danse,  he  was  in  the  habit,  when  in  Miss  Bellen- 

*  Horace  Wal;poU's  Letters,  London,  VL  Vols.,  Vol.  L,p.  68. 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  SECOND.  93 

den's  presence,  of  taking  his  purse  from  his  pocket,  and  pouring 
his  guineas  from  it  into  his  lap.  This  operation  he  accompanied 
with  significant  glances  directed  to  the  lady.  But  the  impression 
which  he  produced  upon  her,  both  by  his  person  and  by  his  gold, 
seems  to  have  been  very  different  from  what  he  expected.  In- 
stead of  adoring  him  as  a  second  Jupiter,  she  satirized  him  as  a 
villanous  little  bashaw  offering  to  purchase  a  Circassian  slave. 
On  one  occasion  she  became  so  incensed  at  the  conduct  of  her 
princely  admirer  that  she  exclaimed  :  "  Sir,  I  cannot  bear  it ;  if 
you  count  your  money  any  more,  I  will  instantly  leave  the 
room,"  The  prince  having  discovered  that  Miss  Bellenden  was 
proof  against  his  seductions,  turned  to  the  conquest  of  another 
lady  of  the  bed-chamber,  less  beautiful  indeed,  but  more  ne- 
cessitous and  more  compliant.  This  person  was  Mrs.  Howard. 
But  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  not  a  man  of  strong  passions 
or  capacities  of  any  description ;  and  he  seems  to  have  main- 
tained the  royal  luxury  of  a  mistress  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of 
indicating  to  the  world  that  he  was  not  ruled  by  his  wife.  Never 
was  there  a  more  egregious  error,  and  one  less  successfully  con- 
cealed. The  Princess  of  Wales  presided  over  her  establishment 
in  Leicester  Fields  with  great  dignity  and  decorum.  In  1716 
she  began  to  be  regarded  as  the  arbitress  of  fashion.  She  gath- 
ered around  her  also,  the  most  distinguished  men  of  letters  who 
adorned  the  period ;  among  whom,  Pope  and  Newton  were  espe- 
cial favorites.  The  familiarity  which  seems  to  have  existed  be- 
tween the  poet  and  the  beautiful  ladies  of  the  bed-chamber  seems 
to  have  been  as  indecorous  as  the  ruder  licence  of  those  times 
permitted.  It  was  at  this  date  that  the  influence  which  one  of 
these  ladies,  !Mrs.  Clayton,  whose  maiden  name  was  Dyves,  ex- 
ercised over  the  mind  of  Princess  Caroline  became  so  great,  that 
her  approbation  was  regarded  as  necessary  to  the  success  of  any 
application  which  was  made  to  her  mistress.  This  lady  was  a 
woman  of  talent  and  shrewdness,  who  perfectly  understood  the 
independent  and  sagacious  disposition  of  the  princess ;  and  who 
clearly  discerned  precisely  how  for  she  might  presume  to  inter- 
fere in  directing  or  influencing  her  opinions.     She  was  also  used 


94:  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 

by  the  princess  to  consolidate  her  own  influence  over  her  royal 
husband ;  and  the  superior  talents  and  discretion  of  Mrs.  Clayton 
deserved  the  degree  of  confidence  which  her  mistress  reposed  in 
her. 

Mrs.  Howard,  the  mistress  of  the  Prince  of  "Wales,  was  a 
woman  of  a  different  stamp.  With  the  sacrifice  of  her  virtue, 
she  made  no  sacrifice  of  principle  or  character,  for  she  had  none 
to  lose.  In  early  life  she  had  married  Mr.  Howard,  a  younger 
member  of  the  great  family  of  Suffolk.  Both  were  very  poor, 
and  the  only  dowry  of  the  bride  was  her  beauty.  Before  the  ac- 
cession of  George  I.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howard  visited  Hanover,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  securing  the  favor  of  the  family  to  whom 
the  royal  dignities  of  England  had  fallen.  It  was  said  that,  in 
order  to  defray  some  of  the  expenses  of  this  journey,  Mrs.  How- 
ard was  compelled  to  cut  off"  and  sell  her  magnificent  suit  of  hair. 
Even  then  she  accorded  her  secret  favors  to  Prince  George  Au- 
gustus, and  obtained  a  promise  from  him  that,  as  soon  as  he 
removed  to  England,  he  would  appoint  her  one  of  the  ladies  of 
the  bed-chamber  to  his  wife.  All  this  was  achieved  in  accord- 
ance with  the  wishes  of  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Howard,  who  seems 
to  have  been  a  craven  and  ignominious  wretch.  But  after  the 
accession  of  George  II.  to  the  throne,  it  was  with  considerable 
difficulty  and  at  some  expense  that  he  was  disposed  of  by  his 
subservient  wife  and  her  royal  lover.  His  ultimate  and  obscure 
destiny  is  unknown. 

The  chief  source  of  aimoyance  to  which  the  prince  and  prin- 
cess were  subjected  previous  to  their  accession,  was  their  aversion 
to  their  eldest  son  Frederic.  It  is  difficult  at  this  late  day  to  as- 
certain with  any  certainty  the  real  cause  of  that  repugnance, 
though  many  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  it.  His  parents  did 
not  permit  him  even  to  accompany  them,  when  they  first  came  to 
England.  He  was  born  in  170T,  and  seems  to  have  always  ex- 
hibited two  predominating  qualities,  both  of  which  were  repulsive 
and  unamiable.  These  were  his  spitefulness  and  his  cunning. 
His  morals  were  always  bad.  He  was  addicted,  from  a  very 
early  period,  to  drinking,  gaming,  cheating,  and  gross  licentious- 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  SECOKD.  95 

ness.  So  completely  had  his  conduct  alienated  the  affections 
even  of  his  mother,  that  she  would  have  rejoiced  had  she  been 
able  to  deprive  him  of  his  birthright ;  and  she  would  have  ac- 
complished her  purpose  had  not  the  colossal  barrier  of  the  law 
rendered  her  success  absolutely  impossible.  Nor  was  Frederic 
allowed  to  visit  England  until  after  the  accession  of  his  father  to 
the  throne.  In  1717  for  the  sake  of  decency,"he  was  created 
Duke  of  Gloucester ;  the  next  year  the  Garter  was  conferred 
upon  him,  and  in  172G  he  became  Duke  of  Edinburgh.  His  life 
was  stormy,  dissolute,  and  short,  and  he  was  never  destined  to 
ascend  the  throne  which  fortune  had  so  blindly  bestowed  upon 
his  family. 

Previous,  to  the  accession  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  espe- 
cially during  the  several  concluding  years  of  the  reign  of  his  fathei*, 
there  may  be  said  to  have  existed  two  courts  and  two  sources  of 
authority  in  England ;  and  it  required  the  utmost  craft  and 
shrewdness  on  the  part  of  the  trimming  courtiers  and  statesmen 
of  the  time,  to  conduct  their  relations  with  both  courts  in  such  a 
mamier  as  not  to  lose  the  favor  of  the  powers  that  were,  and  at 
the  same  time  not  fall  under  the  ban  of  the  powers  that  soon 
were  to  be.  At  length  in  June,  1727,  the  great  event  occurred 
which  exercised  so  decisive  an  influence  upon  the  destinies  of  the 
nation,  and  upon  the  fortunes  of  the  courtiers.  The  haughty, 
pompous,  consequential,  diminutive  Prince  of  Wales  became 
George  II.,  King  of  England,  and  Electoral  Sovereign  of  Han- 
over. 

Information  of  the  death  of  George  I.  was  conveyed  by  ex- 
press to  London  on  the  afternoon  of  June  14th,  1727.  His  suc- 
cessor was  then  at  Eiclimond,  and  thither  a  crowd  of  courtiers 
instantly  rushed  in  order  to  tender  their  homage  to  the  new  sov- 
ereign. Among  the  number  Avas  Robert  Walpole,  the  late 
prime  minister ;  who  inquired  of  his  majesty  whom  he  would  se- 
lect to  draw  up  the  usual  address  to  the  Privy  Council.  To  his 
great  disappointment  the  king  named,  not  himself,  but  Sir  Spen- 
cer Compton.  This  was  as  much  as  to  intimate  to  Sir  Robert, 
that  his  services  were  no  longer  needed  in  the  Cabinet.     But  the 


9Q  '      mSTOET  OF  THE  FOUK  GEOKGES. 

wily  and  ambitious  minister  was  not  so  easily  to  be  dislodged 
from  his  ancient  seat  of  influence  and  power.  Compton  found 
himself  utterly  incompetent  to  perform  the  duty  assigned  him, 
and  was  compelled  to  have  recourse  to  Sir  Robert.  The  latter 
induced  Compton  to  recommend  an  allowance  only  of  sixty  thou- 
sand pounds  per  annum  to  the  queen.  Sir  Robert  immediately 
sent  word  to  h^  majesty,  that  if  he  were  retained  as  prime  min- 
ister he  would  secure  to  her  an  allowance  of  a  hundred  thousand 
pounds.  The  queen  was  unable  to  withstand  this  potent  bribe ; 
and  exerted  all  her  influence  with  the  king  to  obtain  the  reten- 
tion of  Walpole  at  the  head  of  the  administration.  She  succeed- 
ed ;  and  many  years  of  additional  power,  anxiety,  and  glory 
were  added  to  the  political  life  of  that  extraordinary  man. 

The  Privy  Council  was  then  summoned.  Dr.  Wake,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  produced  the  will  of  the  late  sovereign, 
laid  it  before  his  majesty,  and  waited  with  the  rest  of  the  cab- 
inet to  hear  his  orders  in  reference  to  it.  To  the  astonishment 
of  the  council,  and  to  the  utter  dismay  of  the  prelate,  the  king 
stuffed  the  will  into  his  pocket,  and  abruptly  walked  out  of  the 
chamber.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  document  was  afterward 
burnt,  inasmuch  as  some  of  its  details  were  not  agreeable  to  the 
new  sovereign.*  Two  copies  of  the  will  had  been  executed. 
One  of  these  was  deposited  with  the  Duke  of  Wolfenbiittel, 
and  the  other  with  a  German  prince  whose  name  has  not  tran- 
spired. Both  of  these  copies  were  subsequently  bought  and  de- 
stroyed by  George  11.,  so  that  the  testamentary  intentions  of  his 
father  were  entirely  defeated.  The  latter  could  not  have  com- 
plained very  much  of  this  conduct,  had  he  been  living ;  for  he  had 
himself  destroyed  two  wills — that  of  his  mother,  Sophia  Doro- 
thea, and  that  of  the  Duke  of  Zell.  It  is  said  that  George  I.  had 
bequeathed  forty  thousand  pounds  to  his  surviving  mistress,  the 
Duchess  of  Kendal ;  and  had  also  given  a  large  legacy  to  his 
daughter,  the  Queen  of  Prussia.  AVith  both  of  these  legatees 
the  monarch  was  afterwards  compelled  to  compound,  by  the  pay 
ment  of  a  heavy  sum. 

*  Zdiers  of  Jlorace  Walpole,  VI.  Vols.  London,  R.  JBentley ;  Vol.  I.  p.  83. 


LIFE  AXD   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  TIIE   SECOND.  97 

George  II.  having  concluded  to  retain  Robert  Walpole  as 
prime  minister,  determined  not  to  remove  any  of  the  members 
of  his  father's  cabinet.*  He  ordered  them  all  to  be  sworn  anew. 
He  declared  his  intention  to  preserve  inviolate  the  constitution 
of  the  realm  both  as  to  church  and  state,  and  to  maintain  the 
same  relations  with  foreign  powers  which  had  existed  during  the 
reign  of  his  predecessor.  Lord  Townshend  was  appointed  Sec- 
retary of  State  for  foreign  affairs.  This  nobleman  was  a  relative 
of  Walpole  both  by  birth  and  by  marriage.  They  had  long 
been  associated  together  in  the  many  political  changes  and  vicis- 
situdes which  had  occurred  during  preceding  years.  Tlie  dispo- 
sition of  Lord  Townshend  was  open,  frank,  and  generous.  He 
would  have  been  an  invaluable  aid  to  Walpole,  had  not  Walpole 
been  one  of  the  most  ambitious  and  domineering  of  men.  Towns- 
hend was  willing  to  render  his  very  respectable  talents  sub- 
servient to  the  ministerial  supremacy  of  Walpole ;  but  he  was 
not  disposed  to  be  treated  as  a  slave  or  a  menial.  Accordingly 
he  soon  quarrelled  with  the  premier  and  left  the  cabinet ;  disgusted, 
as  he  well  might  be,  with  politics,  and  determined  to  be  forever 
quit  of  the  vexations  and  pollutions  inevitably  comiected  with 
them. 

Tlie  Duke  of  Newcastle  was  also  retained  in  the  new  admin- 
istration. His  birth  was  illustrious,  his  manners  were  popular 
and  pleasing,  his  habits  were  lavish  and  ostentatio^is ;  but  his 
capacities  were  of  the  most  ordinary  description.  His  chief 
merit  was  his  inordinate  attachment  to  the  House  of  Hanover. 
But  his  character  was  in  many  respects  most  insignificant  and 
ludicrous ;  so  weak,  indeed,  that  he  would  rush  forth  from  the 
hands  of  his  valet,  with  his  face  covered  with  soap,  to  embrace 
the  envoy  of  the  Sultan,  in  his  joy  at  the  establishment  of  friend- 

*  It  is  an  incident  worthy  of  notice,  that  immediately  after  his  accession 
George  II.  placed  the  portrait  of  a  lady  habited  in  the  electoral  robes  of  Han- 
over, in  a  conspicuous  position  in  his  bed-chamber.  Her  features  were  unknown 
to  all  the  courtiers.  It  was  the  portrait  of  the  king's  mother,  which  he  had  con- 
cealed for  many  years  from  the  knowledge  and  the  grasp  of  his  father,  and  em- 
braced the  first  opportunity  to  produce  and  honor.  Siie  Jesse,  Memoirs  of  the 
Court  of  England,  Vol.  II.,  p.  197. 

5 


98  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

ly  relations  between  his  sovereign  and  the  Ottoman  monarch. 
Henry  Pelham,  the  brother  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  was  re- 
tained as  Secretary  of  War.  His  talents  were  respectable,  and 
resembled  those  of  Walpole  very  much  as  the  appearance  and 
qualities  of  a  cat  may  be  supposed  to  resemble  those  of  a  tiger. 
Pelham  was  a  safe  and  prudent  debater  in  parliament ;  he  pos- 
sessed considerable  talent  for  business  ;  his  temper  was  yielding 
and  accommodating ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  was  timid  and  peev- 
ish. He  possessed  no  large  and  capacious  grasp  of  views.  The 
circle  of  his  vision  was  limited ;  nevertheless  within  the  area 
of  that  circle,  he  saw  with  the  clearness  and  accuracy  of  tne 
Ijnx.  He  endured  a  vast  amount  of  tyranny  from  Wal- 
pole, because  he  dreaded,  above  all  other  things,  to  be  driven 
from  the  dignities  and  the  ignominies  of  office. 

The  Earl  of  Chesterfield  was  appointed  Lord  Steward.  This 
nobleman  was  celebrated  as  the  most  polite  and  polished  gallant 
of  his  times  ;  as  possessing  great  conversational  wit ;  as  one  who 
united  in  his  own  person  the  characters  of  an  accomplished  court- 
ier, a  man  of  extreme  fashion,  and  a  writer  of  no  mean  literary 
ability.  Though  he  abhorred  gross  and  vulgar  licentiousness,  he 
was  tarnished  by  all  the  elegant  and  refined  vices  of  the  times. 
After  quitting  the  University  he  made  the  tour  of  Europe. 
Having  returned  to  England  he  entered  parliament  for  St.  Ger- 
mains  in  Cornwall.  He  became  a  favorite  of  George  II.  while 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  on  the  accession  of  that  monarch,  was  ap- 
pointed a  member  of  the  Pri\^  Council,  and  sent  as  ambas- 
sador to  Holland.  His  chief  defect  was  his  fondness  for  gaming. 
In  IT.3.3  he  married  Melesina  von  Schulemberg,  the  daughter  of 
George  I.  by  the  Duchess  of  Kendal.  In  the  preceding  year  he 
had  been  dismissed  from  the  cabinet  in  consequence  of  his  oppo- 
sition in  parliament  to  the  passage  of  the  Excise  Bill,  which  was 
a  favorite  measure  with  George  II.  and  his  able  prime  minister. 

But  the  most  remarkable  man  in  every  respect  who  held  a 
place  in  the  new  cabinet,  was  Lord  Carteret,  afterward  Earl  of 
Granville.  He  was  the  most  brilliant  and  powerful  orator  who 
had,  previous  to  that  period,  displayed  his  abilities  in  the  British 


LIFE  AKD   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   SECOND.  99 

parliament.  His  eloquence  was  rapid,  stately,  imposing  and 
impressive.  His  commanding  person  and  graceful  manner  set 
off  his  extraordinary  talents  to  the  greatest  advantage.  His 
learning  was  remarkable  for  its  richness,  accuracy  and  variety. 
He  was  familiar  with  all  the  most  important  languages  of  mod- 
ern Europe.  His  knowledge  of  the  literature  of  ancient  Greece 
and  Rome  was  such  as  a  Grotius  or  a  Parr  would  not  have  dis- 
dained. His  acquaintance  with  the  great  ecclesiastical  writers 
of  the  Middle  Ages  would  have  conferred  credit  upon  a  Eoman 
Catholic  Doctor  of  Theology ;  and  the  sophisms  of  Aquinas, 
Duns  Scotus  and  Occam  were  neither  secrets  nor  enigmas  to 
his  well  stored  mind.  His  opinions  in  International  Law  pos- 
sessed great  depth  and  soundness.  He  alone  of  all  the  members 
of  the  cabinet  could  address  the  king  in  his  native  German ;  and 
the  facility  with  which  he  frequently  poured  forth  his  Teutonic 
gutturals  in  conversation  with  the  monarch,  excited  the  jealousy 
and  apprehension  of  his  less  accomplished  associates.  Beside 
all  this,  Carteret  was  not  merely  a  man  of  words.  He  was 
practical,  utilitarian  and  effective ;  and  his  measures  were  always 
prompt,  decisive  and  adroit.  In  parliament  no  man  dared  to 
stand  before  him  as  a  debater,  and  when  at  last  his  forensic  glory 
was  eclipsed,  it  was  eclipsed  by  that  of  William  Pitt  alone. 
His  temper  was  constantly  cheerful  and  hopeful.  The  most  dis 
astrous  events  never  threw  a  cloud  of  sadness  over  his  exultant 
spirits.  He  had  but  one  vice,  and  that  was  a  fondness  for  wine. 
When  at  last,  after  years  of  cooperation  with  Walpole,  he  retired 
with  him  from  office,  he  alone  descended  from  his  eminence  with  an 
easy  and  willing  grace,  and  retired  laughing  to  the  obscurity  of  pri- 
vate life;  and  soon  convinced  the  world  that  neither  ambition, re- 
sentment, nor  jealousy  was  the  ruling  passion  of  his  soul,  but  that 
he  felt  within  him  the  raging  of  no  other  yearning  except  an  in- 
satiable thirst.  No  man  ever  enjoyed  the  possession  of  power 
with  less  arrogance ;  none  ever  resigned  it  with  greater  indiffer- 
ence, than  Lord  Carteret,  Earl  of  Granville. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Eevennes  and  Expenses  of  the  Government — Spanish  Aggressions  on  British  Com- 
merce— The  Treaty  of  Vienna — Walpole's  Law  of  Excise — Marriage  of  the  Princess 
Anne  to  the  Prince  of  Orange — Incidents  connected  with  the  Marriage — Mortifying 
conduct  of  Frederic,  Prince  of  Wales — He  leads  the  Opposition  against  Walpole — 
Motion  to  repeal  the  Septennial  Parliament  Act — Increase  of  the  National  Forces 
by  Land  and  Sea. 

Such  were  the  men  who  formed  the  cabinet  of  the  second  sover- 
eign of  the  house  of  Hanover  in  England.  The  first  measure 
which  demanded  the  attention  of  parliament  was  the  settlement 
of  the  civil  list.  The  usual  revenues  of  the  government  amount- 
ed to  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year.  Sir  Eobert  Wal- 
pole proposed  to  allow  the  whole  of  this  enormous  sum  for  the 
regular  use  of  the  king.  The  measure  met  with  some  opposition. 
It  was  alleged  that  so  great  a  revenue  had  never  before  been 
granted  to  any  British  monarch ;  that  during  the  reign  of  George 
I,  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  had  twice  been  voted  to  dis- 
charge the  debts  which  had  accumulated  on  the  civil  list ;  that  a 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  pounds  had  been  voted  for  a 
similar  purpose  but  a  short  time  before ;  and  that  a  debt  of  half 
a  million  of  pounds  contracted  by  the  late  sovereign  yet  remained 
to  be  accounted  for.  But  parliament  was  in  a  compliant  mood, 
and  granted  every  demand  which  was  made  of  them,  including  a 
settled  revenue  of  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  per  annum  for  the 
queen,  according  to  the  lavish  pi'omise  of  the  minister. 

In  1729  the  attention  of  the  British  people  was  attracted  to 
the  outrages  which  had  been  committed  upon  their  commerce  m 
the  "West  Indies  by  the  Spanish  cruisers.  Parliament  passed  a 
resolution,  authorizing  Admiral  Hosier  to  seize  the  vessels  of 


LITE   AKD  KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   TIIE   SECOND.  101 

that  nation  Avhich  might  fall  in  his  way  ;    and  an  address  was 
voted  to  his  majesty  desiring  him  to  use  his  utmost  exertions  to 
procure  satisfaction  for  the  injuries  which  had  been  already  per- 
petrated ;  and  especially  that  means  should  be  taken  to  secure 
Gibraltar  and  Minorca.     In  accordance  with  these  suggestions, 
a  congress  was  soon  convened  at  Seville,  composed  of  diplo- 
matic I'cpresentatives  of  England,  France,  and  Spain,  which  set- 
tled upon  favorable  terms  of  pacification.     When  Parliament 
opened  in  January,   1730,  the  king  informed  them  from  the 
throne,  that  the  peace  of  Europe  was  firmly  established  by  the 
enactments  of  the  treaty  of  Seville ;   that  Spain   by  that  com- 
pact, had  agreed  to  make  ample  reparation  for  all  her  depreda- 
tions in  the  West  Indies  ;  and  that  the  rights  and  possessions  of 
his   subjects   every  where  were  guaranteed.     Notwithstanding 
these  assurances,  complaints  were  soon  renewed  that  the  former 
cruelties  and  injuries  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  Indies  had  only 
been  suspended,  and  had  again  been  resumed.     The  Legislature 
presented  another  petition  to  the  king,  requesting  the  protection 
of  the  crown  in  behalf  of  those  subjects  who  were  engaged  in 
commerce  among  those  Islands.     The  sovereign  devoted  his  im- 
mediate attention  to  a  delicate  matter  which  so  nearly  concerned 
both  the  honor  and  the  interests  of  the  nation  ;  and  before  par- 
liament was  prorogued  in  May,  1731,  he  was  able  to  inform  them 
from  the  throne  that  another  treaty  had  been  signed  at  Vienna 
in  the  preceding  March,  which  would  effectually  attain  the  results 
which  had  been  fruitlessly  attempted  by  the  treaty  of  Seville ; 
that  the  Ostend  East  India  Company  should  be  totally  abolished, 
and  thus  an  end  would  be  put  to  the  pernicious  rivalry  which 
that  corporation  had  so  long  maintained  with  the  English  Com- 
pany ;  and  that  the  previous  dispute  in  reference  to  the  sover- 
eignty of  Parma  and  Placentia  was  amicably  adjusted ;  in  ex- 
change for  all  which  important  advantages,  the  King  of  England 
only  bound  himself  to  adhere  to  the  demands  of  the  Pragmatic 
Sanction.     The  consummation  of  this  treaty  was  due,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  the  able  and  skilful  exertions  of  Robert  Walpole ; 
whose  whole  administration  was  based  upon  the  principle  of  pre- 


102  niSTOEY   OF  THE  FOUE   GEOEGES. 

serving  the  general  tranquillity  of  Europe,  and  the  friendly  rela- 
tions which  existed  between  England  and  the  continental  powers ; 
and  not  permit  the  former  to  become  involved  either  in  any  com- 
pacts or  any  wars  which  concerned  simply  the  interests  of  the 
Hanoverian  dominions  of  the  king. 

It  was  in  February,  1732,  that  the  premier  devised  and  pro- 
posed his  celebrated  project  in  reference  to  the  duties  of  Excise. 
His  intention  was  to  effect  a  radical  change  in  the  national  system 
of  taxation.  He  contended  that  the  taxes  on  real  estate,  and  all 
immovable  property,  such  as  houses,  lands,  hearths,  and  win- 
dows, were  oppressive,  partial,  and  unjust ;  while  at  the  same  time 
he  thought  that  it  was  more  equitable  to  lay  taxes  on  consum- 
able articles,  to  which  every  citizen  contributed  in  an  exact  pro- 
portion to  his  consumption.  He  desired  to  convert  the  greater 
part  of  the  customs  into  excise  taxes,  or  taxes  laid  upon  com- 
modities both  manufactured  and  consumed  within  the  realm.  In 
accordance  with  this  plan,  Walpole  proposed  a  bill  in  parliament 
to  revise  the  duties  on  salt,  which  had  been  repealed,  in  exchange 
for  a  land  tax  of  a  shilling  in  the  pound.  The  most  violent  de- 
bates ensued  in  the  House  of  Commons,  in  consequence  of  the  in- 
troduction of  this  celebrated  bill.  The  minister  was  charged  by 
the  opj)Osition — among  whom  Pulteney  shone  forth  preemi- 
nently for  the  unrivalled  brilliancy  and  fervor  of  his  eloquence — 
with  the  most  malignant  and  perfidious  designs  agauist  the  lib- 
erties and  the  welfare  of  his  country.  These  charges  were  re- 
pelled with  equal  fierceness  and  determination  by  the  orators  of 
the  administration,  led  on  by  the  dauntless  Carteret ;  and  after 
a  desperate  conflict,  the  bill  was  passed  by  a  majority  of  two 
hundred  and  seven  votes  over  a  hundred  and  thirty-five.  In 
June,  1732,  the  king  prorogued  parliament,  and  announced  his 
intention  immediately  to  visit  Germany,  and  receive  the  inves- 
titure of  the  Duchies  of  Bremen  and  Verden.  He  appointed 
Queen  Caroline  Regent  during  his  absence,  who  administered 
the  government  with  much  more  energy,  intelligence,  and  ability 
than  her  husband. 

At  this  period  an  event  of  importance  occurred  in  the  domes- 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   SECOND.  103 

tic  affairs  of  the  monarch.  This  was  the  marriage  of  his  eldest, 
proudest,  and  vainest  daughter,  Anne,  to  the  deformed  and  sickly 
Prince  of  Orange.  The  lady  had  already  attained  the  mature 
age  of  twenty-five.  The  birth  of  brothers  had  defeated  her  in- 
heritance of  that  cro■\\^^,  respecting  which  she  declared  that,  to 
be  allowed  to  wear  it  for  a  single  day  she  would  willingly  expire 
on  the  next.  When  she  was  sixteen  years  old,  a  match  had  been 
contemplated  between  her  and  Louis  XV.  To  this  high  alliance 
the  aspirmg  princess  had  no  objection ;  but  it  was  eventually 
prevented  by  the  fact  that  she  was  a  Protestant,  and  that  to  have 
changed  her  religion  would  have  destroyed  the  confidence  of  the 
British  nation  in  the  Protestantism  of  her  whole  family,  thereby 
threatenmg  the  security  of  their  throne.  Years  quickly  rolled 
by,  and  the  fair  princess  still  remained  unmarried.  Equal  suit- 
ors had  not  proposed ;  unequal  ones  had  not  ventured  to  offer. 
At  length  the  Prince  of  Orange,  whose  only  merit  was  that  he 
belonged  to  the  high  and  mighty  class  of  reigning  princes,  re- 
solved to  interpose  his  own  deformed  figure  between  the  prm- 
cess  and  her  unwelcome  solitude.  At  first  the  British  sovereigns 
laughed  outright  at  the  proposition.  Queen  Caroline  called  the 
prince  "  an  ugly  animal."  George  II.,  who  had  seen  his  pro- 
posed son-in-law,  abhorred  him.  Amie,  who  had  formed  her 
opinion  of  his  person  only  from  the  exaggerated  miniatures  which 
his  flatterers  had  executed  of  him,  thought  him  at  least  endurable. 
Her  father,  aware  of  the  sources  from  which  her  ideas  had  been 
derived,  informed  her  that  the  prince  was  the  ugliest  man  in 
Holland.  She  replied,  in  her  determination  no  longer  to  be  de- 
prived of  something  in  the  shape  of  a  husband,  that  she  would 
marry  the  prince  "though  he  were  a  Dutch  baboon."  Her. 
father  sarcastically  replied :  "  Then  have  your  own  way ;  I 
promise  you  that  you  will  have  baboon  enough." 

Tliis  fascinating  bridegroom  arrived  at  Greenwich  in  Novem- 
ber, 1732,  and  took  up  his  residence  at  Somerset  House.  Be- 
fore the  marriage  could  take  place  he  fell  sick.  The  ceremony 
was  consequently  postponed.  It  was  not  till  the  succeeding 
January  that  he  was  so  far  restored,  as  to  be  able  to  travel  to 


104r  HISTOKY   OF  THE   FOTJE   GEOEGES. 

Bath  to  imbibe  renewed  vigor  and  strength  at  that  fashionable 
resort.  In  March  his  serene  Highness  had  become  to  some  ex- 
tent restored  to  health ;  and  announced  himself  as  prepared  to 
undertake  the  responsibilities  of  matrimony.  On  the  24h  of 
Marcli  the  ceremony  was  performed  by  the  Bishop  of  London 
in  the  chapel  of  St.  James,  The  groom  was  dressed  for  the  oc- 
casion in  a  suit  of  cloth-of-gold.  The  princess  was  arrayed  in 
robes  of  silver  tissue,  having  a  train  six  yards  long,  which  was 
supported  by  the  fair  daughters  of  ten  dukes  and  earls.  The 
bride  and  groom  were  an  odd-looking  couple ;  and  their  apj)earance 
was  extremely  ludicrous  when,  after  the  ceremony  and  the  supper, 
they  were  put  to  bed  and  sat  bolt-upright  together  in  their  night- 
dresses, while  the  court  and  nobility  defiled  before  them,  accord- 
ing to  the  established  etiquette  of  the  court.  The  princess  was 
marked  with  small-pox,  while  her  figure  was  short,  fat,  and 
shapeless.  The  bridegroom  was  absolutely  deformed,  and  his 
person  was  remarkable  for  an  odor  which  was  neither  agreeable 
in  a  prince  nor  a  peasant.  His  figure  was  so  peculiar  that, 
while  sitting  in  bed,  when  seen  from  behind  he  seemed  to  have 
no  head  ;  when  seen  from  before  he  appeared  to  have  no  legs. 
When  Queen  Caroline  saw  the  ridiculous  and  melancholy  spec- 
tacle presented  by  this  hymeneal  pair,  she  could  scarcely  retain 
her  tears  of  mortification  ;  yet  the  absurdity  of  the  scene  in  the 
next  moment  compelled  her  to  laugh  in  despite  of  herself. 
Never  had  a  more  intensely  serio-comic  exhibition  been  made 
in  the  annals  of  royal  marriages  in  England.  When  the  matter 
of  the  dowry  of  the  princess  was  proposed  in  parliament,  the 
House  resolved  to  sell  lands  in  the  island  of  St.  Christopher  to 
tile  amount  of  eighty  thousand  jjounds,  and  appropriate  that  sum 
for  the  purpose.  In  justice  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  it  must  be 
admitted  that,  though  deformed  in  person,  he  was  a  man  of  in- 
telligence and  good  sense.  His  conduct  Avas  always  marked  by 
a  proper  regard  for  propriety  and  decency ;  which  redeemed 
him  in  a  great  measure  from  the  derision  occasioned  by  his  phys- 
ical defects,  and  secured  him  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  sub- 
jects. 


LIFE  AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   SECOND.  105 

After  the  marriage,  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  conducted  by 
his  brother-in-law  Frederic,  the  heir-apparent,  to  examine  the 
wonders  and  novelties  of  the  metropolis.  A  bill  was  also  passed 
by  parliament,  conferring  upon  him  the  rights  of  a  British  sub- 
ject. The  king  further  preferred  a  request  to  parliament  that 
they  would  settle  five  thousand  pounds  per  annum  upon  the 
Princess  of  Orange ;  to  which  proposition  they  generously  ac- 
ceded. In  April,  1734,  the  bride  and  groom  started  for  Holland. 
The  match  seemed  to  be  a  happy  one.  The  princess  at  least  ap- 
peared to  be  pleased  with  her  husband,  and  treated  him  with 
great  tenderness  and  affection  ;  which  was  reciprocated  by  him, 
not  with  ardor  indeed,  but  with  the  solemn  and  honest  phlegm 
which  characterized  his  nation.  The  queen  was  satisfied,  not- 
withstanding her  previous  apprehensions,  that  the  happiness  of 
her  daughter  had  not  been  sacrificed  by  the  alliance. 

It  was  well  that  no  domestic  anxiety  tormented  the  king  and 
queen  from  this  source,  inasmuch  as  they  found  a  constant  cause 
of  vexation  and  mortification  in  the  conduct  of  their  eldest  son, 
Frederic.  Parliament  allowed  this  prince  a  hundred  thousand 
pounds  a  year ;  of  which  sum  his  father  only  paid  over  fifty 
thousand.  In  his  rage  he  joined  the  opposition,  and  became  its 
most  violent  and  vindictive  leader.  His  parents  cordially  detested 
him  for  his  debauched  morals,  for  his  disrespect  to  them,  for  his 
opposition  to  the  government,  and  for  the  general  worthlessness 
of  his  character.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  British  Emj^ire  that  he 
never  ascended  the  throne.  He  feared  his  mother,  with  great 
justice,  more  than  he  did  his  father.  He  readily  perceived  her 
intellectual  and  moral  superiority.  It  was  she  who  vanquished 
Lord  Stair  in  a  set  argument,  and  humbled  hinx  as  he  never  be-, 
fore  had  been  humbled.*  It  was  she  who  overawed  the  satirical 
and  irreverent  spirit  of  Lord  Chesterfield  ;  who  removed  the  in- 

*  This  nobleman  had  been  selected  by  a  large  number  of  peers  to  wait  upon 
the  Queen,  and  represent  to  her  the  unconstitutional  nature  and  the  destructive 
tendency  of  Walpole's  great  measure  in  reference  to  the  excise.  This  was  a 
favorite  scheme  with  Caroline  as  well  as  with  her  minister ;  and  Lord  Stair, 
though  a  man  of  talent  and  experience,  found  that  he  was  no  match  for  the 
shrewdness  and  resolution  of  the  Queen. 
5* 


106  HISTOEY  OF  THE  FOUE  GEOEGES. 

tense  hatred  Avhich  her  husband  had  felt,  on  his  accession  to  the 
throne,  against  Robert  Walpole ;  and  who  continued  him  firmly- 
seated  in  his  high  place  for  many  years,  so  that  he  was  generally 
called,  with  perfect  truth,  the  Queen's  minister.*  Yet  notwith- 
standing all  her  sense,  prudence,  and  decorum,  the  hatred  of  the 
queen  against  her  eldest  son  was  so  intense,  that  on  more  than 
one  occasion  she  declared  that  she  would  rejoice  at  his  death ; 
and  upon  him  alone  of  all  her  family  or  subjects  was  she  unable 
to  impress  any  sentiment  of  esteem  or  affection.  The  union  of 
the  prince  with  the  Opposition  gave  that  party  great  courage  and 
energy.  They  took  countenance  from  the  fact  that  their  measures 
were  supported  by  the  heir  apparent,  who  might  at  any  moment, 
by  the  sudden  demise  of  the  king,  ascend  to  the  supreme  conduct  of 
affairs  ;  and  they  thus  rendered  the  position  of  the  minister  one 
of  increased  difficulty,  and  that  of  the  nation  one  of  more  immi- 
nent danger. 

An  important  illustration  of  this  fact,  may  be  found  in  the 
effort  which  was  made  by  the  opposition  in  the  session  of  1734, 
to  repeal  the  Act  authorizmg  septennial  parliaments.  These 
were  represented  as  a  flagrant  encroachment  upon  the  rights  of 
the  people ;  as  giving  a  pernicious  degree  of  power  to  the  crown ; 
and  as  being  the  cause  of  many  great  evils  and  misfortunes  to  the 
state.  The  motion  to  repeal  the  Act  was  supported  with  great 
ability  ;  especially  by  Sir  William  Windham,  who  on  this  occa- 
sion gave  utterance  to  a  burst  of  eloquence  which  has  since  be- 
come classical.  Sir  Robert  Walpole  answered  him  with  equal 
effect,  and  defied  the  enemies  of  the  government  to  point  out  a 
single  instance  in  which  the  nation  had  been  injured  by  the  oper- 
ation of  the  exis^ng  law.  His  resolute  efforts  prevailed,  after  a 
desperate  conflict,  in  which  the  whole  strength  of  both  parties 
was  fully  exerted  and  displayed ;  and  the  motion  to  repeal  was 

*  We  may  call  this  a  very  great  triumph  on  the  part  of  the  Queen,  for  her 
husband  was  one  of  the  most  obstinate  of  men.  George  II.  under  her  influence, 
finally  became  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  Walpole  ;  called  him  a  "  noble  fellow  " 
and  frequently  shed  tears  when  speaking  of  his  heroic  battles  in  Parliament 
with  the  opponents  of  the  Government.    Doraria  Queens,  Vol.  Z,  p.  253. 


LIFE  AifD   KEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   SECOND.  107 

lost  by  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  votes  against  a  hundred  and 
eighty-four. 

A  further  effort  was  made  during  the  same  session  to  limit 
the  authority  of  the  monarch  by  the  passage  of  a  law,  which  took 
away  his  power  to  divest  officers  of  their  military  commissions, 
otherwise  than  by  the  judgment  of  a  court  martial,  or  by  an  ad- 
dress of  either  house  of  parliament.  This  motion  gave  great 
alarm  to  the  court ;  as  it  was  supposed  that  the  passage  of  such 
a  law  would  render  the  military  arm  of  the  government  inde- 
pendent in  a  great  degree  of  the  sovereign  ;  and  as  giving  licence 
to  the  commission  of  every  species  of  military  cruelty  and  op- 
pression. An  animated  debate  again  ensued,  after  which  the 
motion  was  lost  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  Tlie  ability, 
tact,  and  secret  bribes  of  the  prime  minister  continued  to  carry 
the  government  successfully  through  all  its  proposed  measures, 
during  several  successive  sessions  of  parliament.  He  triumphed 
on  the  motion  to  grant  the  king  a  supply  of  sixty  thousand 
pounds  to  increase  his  forces  by  sea  and  land  ;  on  the  motion  to 
allow  a  subsidy  to  the  King  of  Denmark,  in  accordance  with  the 
requisitions  of  an  existing  treaty ;  on  the  motion  to  repeal  the 
ancient  statutes  which  still  disgraced  the  nation  in  reference  to 
witchcraft  and  conjuration  ;  and  in  its  opposition  to  the  motion 
which  was  introduced  in  March,  173G,  to  repeal  all  those  clauses 
of  the  test  act  which  obstructed  the  admission  of  Protestant  Dis- 
senters to  civil  employments  under  the  government,  which 
measure  was  represented  by  the  admmistration  to  be  at  that 
time  premature  and  impolitic. 


CHAPTEE   III. 

Domestic  Life  of  George  II.— Quarrels  with  Prince  Frederic— The  King's  Visit  to  Han- 
over— Singular  Correspondence  between  the  King  and  Queen— The  Monarch's  Con- 
tempt for  the  Bishops — Marriage  of  Prince  Frederic  proposed — First  Speech  of 
William  Pitt  in  Parliament— The  Princess  Augusta  of  Saxe-Coburg— Her  Marriage 
to  the  Heir  Apparent— Her  Arrival  ia  England — Visit  of  George  II.  to  Hanover — 
His  Intrigue  with  Madame  Walmodcn — Popular  Satires  and  Caricatures  of  the 
Monarch  at  Home. 

The  domestic  life  of  George  11.  at  this  period  was  not  one  of 
much  comfort,  dignity,  or  decency.  In  1734  Mrs.  Howard,  who 
for  some  years  had  been  his  mistress,  married,  and  was  dis- 
missed from  her  disgraceful  relation  to  the  monarch.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  immediate  cause  of  her  dismissal  was  an  adroit 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  talented  queen  to  crush  her  rival,  in 
which  the  polished  Lord  Chesterfield  was  made  an  unconscious 
tool.*  The  treatment  which  the  king  bestowed  upon  Frederic, 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  was  probably  such  as  he  deserved.  The 
l^rince  frequently  attended  the  levees  of  his  royal  father,  on 
which  occasions  it  was  curious  to  observe  how  completely  the 
latter  ignored  his  presence.  He  would  pass  by  him,  stand  near 
him,  and  converse  with  courtiers  next  to  him,  and  never  seem 
to  be  conscious  of  liis  presence.  Lord  Harvey,  in  his  memoirs, 
describes  with  great  effect  the  skill  which  the  king  exhibited  in 

*  It  would  appear  that  diflferent  sentiments  were  entertained  by  the  members 
of  the  royal  family  in  reference  to  this  event.  The  Princess  Anne,  who  had 
married  the  handsome  Prince  of  Orange,  being  in  England  at  the  time,  remarked : 
"  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  that  the  king  would  take  somebody  else,  that  mamma 
might  be  a  little  relieved  from  seeing  him  eternally  in  her  room."  Dorans 
Queens  of  the  Mouse  of  Hanover,  Vol.  /.,  p.  2G2. 


LIFE  AOT)  EEIGN   OF  GEOEGE  THE   SECOND.  109 

thus  pointedly  and  repeatedly  giving  the  cut  direct  to  his  de- 
tested son.  "  It  put  one  in  mind,"  says  the  supple  courtier,  "  of 
stories  that  one  has  heard  of  ghosts  that  appear  to  part  of  the 
company  and  were  invisible  to  the  rest ;  and  in  this  manner, 
wherever  the  prince  stood,  though  the  king  passed  him  ever  so 
often,  or  ever  so  near,  it  always  seemed  as  if  the  king  thought 
the  prince  filled  a  void  space." 

In  1735  the  king  made  another  visit  to  Hanover.  He  ap- 
pointed the  queen  regent  during  his  absence,  which  he  expected 
would  continue  during  half  a  year.  The  conduct  of  the  monarch 
on  this  occasion  was  singular  and  disgraceful  in  the  extreme. 
He  Avrote  almost  daily  to  the  queen  enormous  letters  containing 
thirty  or  forty  pages,  in  every  line  of  which  he  loaded  her 
with  praises.*  At  the  same  time  he  seduced  a  young  mar- 
ried lady  named  Walmoden,  residing  in  the  City  of  Hanover ; 
had  the  turpitude  to  induce  her  to  desert  her  husband  ;  and  dis- 
graced her  and  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world  by  making  her 
his  acknowledged  mistress.  To  render  his  conduct  still  more 
singular,  in  his  interminable  letters  to  his  queen  he  gave  her  all 
the  details  of  this  amour,  and  even  asked  her  advice  in  reference 
to  the  woman's  removal  to  England,  and  bespoke  for  her  the 
affection  of  his  wife  !  He  also  urged  her  to  invite  the  daughter  of 
the  Duke  of  Orleans  to  visit  her  court,  in  order  that  he  might 
have  an  opportunity  to  commence  an  intrigue  with  her.  In  re- 
gard to  some  of  these  interesting  points,  he  suggested  to  her  that 
she  should  consult  with  Sir  Robert  Walpole  as  an  oracle  of  sa- 
gacity and  wisdom.  We  question  whether  a  parallel  to  such 
incidents  could  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  royal  or  princely 
correspondence. 

On  the  2()th  of  October  the  king  returned  to  England,  leav- 
ing behind  him  his  new  mistress.  Madam  Walmoden,  and  with 

*  The  language  of  the  king  was,  in  part,  as  follows :  "  Un  plaisir,  que  je 
suis  siir,  ma  chere  Caroline,  vous  serez  bien  aise  de  me  procurer,  quand  je  vous 
dis  combien  je  le  souhaite."  S<:e  Lord  Ilervei/s  Memoirs  of  the  Court  of  Queen 
Caroline.  This  young  nobleman  was  chamberlain  to  the  Queen,  her  constant 
attendant,  her  chief  confidant  and  her  favorite. 


110  mSTOKY  OF  THE  FOUE  GEOEGES. 

her  his  good  temper.  On  his  arrival  at  the  palace  of  Kensington, 
he  treated  his  queen  and  family  with  unusual  petulance  and  rude- 
ness. He  missed  the  wanton  and  fascinating  charms  of  Walmo- 
den ;  he  preferred  the  small  Electorate  of  Hanover,  where  his 
power  was  absolute ;  and  he  felt  vexed  at  his  return  to  a  family 
who  either  despised  or  abused  him — and  to  a  kingdom  where  his 
tyranny  was  restrained  by  the  operation  of  law,  and  by  the  bold- 
ness and  resolution  of  a  great  people.  At  breakfast  he  snubbed 
the  queen,  and  told  her  that  she  was  always  stuffing.  He  ac- 
cused the  Princess  Caroline  of  growing  abominably  fat ;  and  he 
charged  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  with  standing  as  awkwardly 
as  a  monkey.  The  irate  monarch  seemed  on  this  occasion  to  be 
pleased  with  nobody.  Lord  Hervey  having  remarked  to  him 
that  a  work  of  Bishop  Hoadly  on  the  sacraments  had  just  ap- 
peared, he  replied,  that  "  he  was  always  talking  of  such  non- 
sense, and  that  were  it  not  that  there  were  fools  to  speak  of  such 
things,  the  fools  who  wrote  such  books  would  never  thmk  of 
publishing  their  nonsense,  thereby  disturbing  the  government  by 
their  disputes."  The  monarch  then  fell  upon  the  character  of  the 
learned  and  pious  prelate  in  question,  and  called  him  "  a  great 
puppy,  a  very  dull  fellow,  and  a  very  great  rascal."  He  con- 
tinued by  saying  :  "  It  is  very  modest  for  a  canting  hypocritical 
knave  to  be  crying  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  not  of  this 
world,  at  the  same  time  that  he,  as  Christ's  ambassador,  receives 
seven  thousand  pounds  a  year  ;  and  is  ready  to  receive  the  best 
pay  for  preaching  the  Bible,  though  he  does  not  believe  a  word 
of  it."  During  this  outburst  the  skilful  queen  did  her  best,  by 
smiling  and  nodding  assent  at  the  proper  places  to  win  the  favor 
of  her  husband  ;  but  all  to  no  purpose,  as  he  concluded  by  snub- 
bing her  again,  in  reference  to  her  grotto  in  Richmond  Gardens. 
The  indignant  and  petulant  little  monarch  only  regained  his  usual 
temper  after  he  had  written  several  immense  letters  to  the  ab- 
sent Walmoden ;  to  whom  he  promised  to  return,  to  receive  the 
renewal  of  her  hypocritical  and  purchased  embraces  on  the  29th 
of  the  ensuing  May. 

In  1735  Prince  Frederic,  the  heir  apparent  threatened  to 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE   SECOND.  Ill 

bring  the  matter  of  his  limited  pecuniary  allowance  before  par- 
liament. To  avoid  the  disgrace  and  vexation  of  this  step,  Queen 
Caroline  adroitly  proposed  to  marry  the  prince  to  somebody, 
and  at  the  same  time  provide  for  him  a  more  suitable  establish- 
ment. She  readily  obtained  the  consent  of  the  king  to  this 
measure  ;  and  the  royal  matchmakers  looked  around  for  a  suit- 
able bride.  At  this  time  the  prince  had  two  mistresses,  Miss 
Vane,  and  Mrs.  Archibald  Hamilton,  already  the  mother  of  ten 
children.  These,  however,  were  no  impediments  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  proposed  marriage.  At  first  the  king  wished 
to  unite  the  prince  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  King  of  Prussia ; 
and  suggested  at  the  same  time,  that  his  second  daughter  should 
marry  the  king's  eldest  son.  Proposals  to  this  effect  were  made 
in  due  form  ;  but  the  Prussian  monarch  replied  that  if  he  gave 
his  eldest  daughter  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  he  would  require  the 
eldest  daughter  of  the  British  monarch  for  his  son.  Queen 
Caroline  would  have  consented  to  this  arrangement ;  but  her 
husband  was  inflexible.  His  refusal  excited  the  most  ungovern- 
able fury  in  the  royal  madman  who  ruled  in  Prussia ;  and  the 
two  monarchs  reviled  each  other,  in  consequence,  in  the  grossest 
language.  The  quarrel  became  more  and  more  violent ;  until  at 
last  it  ended  in  one  of  the  most  singular  incidents  which  ever  oc- 
curred in  the  history  of  royal  animosities.  They  determined  to 
settle  the  dispute  by  a  duel.  These  two  fathers,  sovereigns,  al- 
lies, and  brothers-in-law,  determined  to  meet  on  the  field  of  blood, 
and  settle  their  controversy  by  an  attempt  at  each  other's  lives. 
The  territory  of  Hildesheim  was  the  spot  chosen  for  this  extra- 
ordinary scene.  Tlie  British  monarch  selected  General  Sutten 
for  his  second.  The  King  of  Prussia  conferred  a  similar  distinc- 
tion on  Colonel  Derschein.  George  was  to  reach  the  battle- 
ground by  travelling  from  Hanover.  Frederic  was  to  confront 
him  by  passing  through  Saltzdahl.  All  the  fearful  preliminaries 
were  definitely  arranged,  except  the  single  item  of  the  time  of  the 
conflict.  On  this  point  the  combatants  could  not  agree.  Their  re- 
spective advisers  and  courtiers,  perceiving  the  unutterable  folly  and 
foolishness  of  the  dispute,  and  its  proposed  conclusion,  continued 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 

to  raise  difficulties  on  both  sides  in  reference  to  this  point,  to 
procrastinate,  and  eventually  to  defeat  the  belligerent  purposes 
of  the  two  monarchs  entirely.  The  royal  duel  never  occurred ; 
and  posterity,  instead  of  sighing  at  the  miserable  weakness,  may 
more  comfortably  laugh  at  the  ridiculous  absurdity,  of  the  whole 
transaction ;  although  great  coldness  continued  to  exist  between 
the  courts  of  London  and  Berlin  for  many  years  in  consequence 
of  this  quarrel. 

Queen  Caroline  at  length  proposed  a  suitable  bride  for  the 
heir  apparent,  the  handsome  and  accomplished  Princess  Augusta 
of  Saxe  Coburg,  Lord  Delaware  was  sent  to  demand  her  hand 
from  her  brother,  the  Duke  of  Saxe  Coburg.  The  proposition  was 
very  agreeable  to  that  petty  monarch,  and  the  match  was  quickly 
agreed  upon.  The  subject  of  the  prince's  marriage  was  pro- 
posed in  parliament  for  the  first  time  in  the  begiiming  of  April, 
1736.  In. the  following  session,  Mr.  Pulteney  moved  that  a 
hundred  thousand  pounds  per  year  should  be  settled  on  the 
prince,  out  of  the  civil  list.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  propo- 
sition was,  not  to  vote  this  sum  directly  to  the  prince,  but  to  de- 
duct it  from  the  immense  revenue  of  a  million  already  allowed 
for  the  regular  expenses  of  the  government.  It  was  on  this  oc- 
casion that  William  Pitt,  the  most  illustrious  and  powerful 
statesman  who  has  guided  the  destinies  of  the  British  nation, 
made  his  first  speech  in  that  Legislature  which  was  destined, 
during  thirty  memorable  years  of  conflict,  disaster,  and  glory,  to 
be  the  theatre  of  his  prodigious  achievements  and  abilities.  The 
House  of  Commons  moved  an  address  to  the  king.  Pitt  had  lis- 
tened to  the  debates  for  several  months  in  silence.  On  this  oc- 
casion he  arose  and  addressed  the  house  on  the  side  of  the  oppo- 
sition to  the  government.  His  splendid  person,  his  graceful 
delivery,  his  sonorous  and  melodious  voice,  his  boldness  of  man- 
ner, and  the  temerity  of  his  sentiments,  at  once  attracted  to  the 
young  cornet  the  attention  of  every  member.  The  substance  of 
his  effort  was  not  remarkable  for  any  thing  but  the  magnificent 
and  brilliant  declamation  which  characterized  it.  Nevertheless 
the  effort  was  a  worthy  introduction  to  that  long  series  of  orar 


LIFE  AXD  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  SECOND.  113 

torical  displays  which,  improving  with  the  progress  of  time  in  sub- 
stantial merit,  will  remain  to  the  end  of  time  the  most  admirable 
which  any  British  statesman  has  ever  achieved.  After  an  ani- 
mated debate  the  motion  of  Pulteney  was  lost ;  but  it  was  lost 
by  a  majority  only  of  thirty  votes.  Never  before  had  the  gov- 
ernment been  so  nearly  defeated  since  the  accession  of  George 
II ;  and  the  event  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  his  courtiers 
and  servants. 

Prince  Frederic  was  compelled  to  accept  such  a  support  as 
his  royal  father  was  disposed  to  allow  him.  The  yacht  William 
and  Mary  was  sent  to  convey  the  young  bride,  seventeen  years 
of  age,  to  the  British  shores.  She  arrived  at  Greenwich  on  the 
25th  of  April,  173G,  and  attracted  general  admiration  by  her 
cheerful  manner,  her  healthy  appearance,  and  her  elegant  attire. 
She  first  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  her  adopted  country  on  Saint 
George's  day  ;  an  incident  which  was  deemed  auspicious  to  the 
future  fate  of:  the  princess  who  was  destined  to  be  the  mother  of 
the  first  king  born  and  reared  in  England  since  the  birth  of 
James  II.  As  soon  as  she  had  landed,  the  king,  queen,  and  other 
members  of  the  royal  family  sent  her  their  compliments.  The 
next  day  her  intended  husband  reached  Greenwich,  where  she 
still  remained,  and  the  first  interview  took  place  between  them. 
The  princess  was  conveyed  in  one  of  the  royal  carriages  to  Lam- 
beth. Her  reception  at  St.  James  Palace  was  cheerful  and  even 
magnificent.  On  her  arrival  at  the  palace,  the  bridegroom  took 
her  hand  and  conducted  her  into  the  presence  chamber  of  the 
monarch,  where  the  whole  court  had  been  assembled.  As  she 
approached  her  future  father-in-law,  she  prostrated  herself  before 
him.  She  had  been  informed  that  the  haughty  and  punctilious 
little  king  would  be  gratified  by  such  a  profound  act  of  homage. 
He  courteously  raised  her  from  the  floor,  kissed  her  on  each 
cheek,  and  handed  her  over  to  the  embraces  of  the  queen.  The 
princess,  who  was  unaccompanied  by  a  single  friend,  beliaved 
on  this  somewhat  trying  occasion  with  extraordinary  self-posses- 
sion and  grace.     She  won  the  admiration  of  all  observers,  except 


114  mSTOKY   OF  THE   FOTIK   GEORGES. 

that  of  a  few  venerable  females  of  the  court,  in  whose  breasts 
jealousy  absorbed  every  other  sentiment. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  the  arrival  of  the  princess,  the  mar- 
riage was  celebrated  at  St.  James's  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  deau 
of  the  Royal  Chapel.  After  the  ceremony  was  concluded,  a  sup- 
per followed.  When  the  hour  arrived  for  the  observance  of  that 
most  ridiculous  of  royal  ceremonies,  the  "  bedding  "  of  the  youth- 
ful pair,  the  bride  was  conducted  to  her  sleeping  apartment  by 
her  attendant  ladies,  where  she  was  disrobed  and  arrayed  in  her 
night  dress.  While  this  was  going  forward,  Prince  Frederic  was 
undergoing  the  same  process  in  another  apartment,  where  the 
king  did  him  the  honor  to  hand  him  his  shirt,  and  even  aid  in 
putting  it  on.  The  princess  having  been  placed  in  her  bed, 
her  husband  was  conducted  thither  by  several  noblemen.  He 
vniis  arrayed  in  a  night-gown  of  silver  stuff,  and  a  cap  of  the 
finest  lace.  The  attire  of  the  princess  consisted  of  a  night- 
dress of  equal  elegance.  The  prince  took  his  place  in  bed 
beside  his  wife ;  and  both  sat  upright  to  give  the  courtiers 
an  opportunity  to  behold  this  rare  and  edifying  spectacle. 
After  the  royal  family  and  all  the  court  had  sufficiently  sat- 
isfied their  curiosity,  they  gradually  withdrew,  the  lights  were 
put  out,  the  doors  were  locked,  and  the  young  couple  were  lefl 
to  themselves. 

When  the  end  of  May  arrived  the  king  repeated  his  visit  to 
Hanover,  as  he  had  promised  his  fascinating  W^almoden  that  he 
would  do.  He  again  appointed  the  queen  regent  during  his 
absence.  As  Walpole  was  the  favorite  minister  of  the  queen, 
the  kingdom  was  governed  during  the  absence  of  the  monarch 
on  the  same  principles  as  during  his  presence.  On  this  occasion 
the  peace  of  the  kingdom  was  disturbed  by  riots  in  the  western 
counties,  which  were  caused  by  attempts  to  prevent  the  exporta- 
tion of  corn  ;  by  riots  in  London  occasioned  by  the  presence  of 
Irish  laborers  who  offered  to  work  for  less  wages  than  the  Eng- 
lish ;  by  riots  in  Edinburgh  in  consequence  of  the  execution  of 
a  noted  and  desperate  smuggler.  While  the  queen  regent  and 
her  able  minister  were  suppressing  these  commotions,  and  pre- 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   SECOND.  115 

serving  the  peace  of  the  khigdom  as  best  they  could,  the  amorous 
king  was  still  luxuriating  in  the  society  of  the  fair  Walmoden  in 
Hanover  ;  and  so  potent  had  her  charms  become  over  her  royal 
dupe,  who  was  old  enough  to  be  her  father,  that  he  overstayed 
his  birthday.  This  was  an  event  which  had  never  before 
occurred ;  and  the  consciousness  of  its  disgraceful  cause  in- 
flicted intense  suffering  upon  the  heart  of  the  queen.  Once 
only  was  she  seen  by  her  confidants  to  weep.  She  instantly 
mastered  her  feelings,  probably  being  consoled  by  the  just  re- 
flection that  the  worthless  and  conceited  libertine  whom  she 
had  the  misfortune  to  call  husband  was  unworthy  of  her  sen- 
sibility. 

But  Avhile  the  conduct  of  the  king  afflicted  his  wife,  he  became 
annoyed,  as  he  deserved  to  be,  by  the  discovered  unfaithfulness 
of  his  mistress.  He  ascertained  that  she  gave  secret  interviews 
to  Captain  von  Schulemberg,  a  relative  of  the  Duchess  of 
Kendal.  In  the  midst  of  his  mortification,  and  in  accordance 
with  the  folly  and  meanness  of  his  character,  he  wrote  to  the 
queen  on  the  subject  of  his  cuckoldry,  and  asked  her  advice  under 
such  painful  circumstances  !  At  the  same  time  he  desired  her  to 
consult  with  Walpole,  as  a  man  "  who  has  more  experience  in 
these  matters,  my  dear  Caroline,  and  who,  in  the  present  affair, 
must  necessarily  be  more  unprejudiced  than  I  am."  The  king 
himself  thought  that  the  best  expedient  would  be  to  convey  the 
fair  but  perfidious  "Walmoden  to  England.  Meanwhile  his  despi- 
cable conduct  began  to  excite  the  public  derision  and  contempt. 
Caricatures  and  pasquinades  against  him  flooded  the  streets  of 
the  metropolis.  A  famished  old  blind  horse,  with  a  saddle  and 
a  pillion  behind  it,  was  sent  hobbling  through  the  streets,  with 
an  inscription  attached  to  its  forehead  requesting  that  nobody 
would  stop  him  as  he  was  the  "  King's  Hanoverian  Equipage 
going  to  fetch  his  majesty  and  his  mistress  over  to  England." 
A  written  notice  was  boldly  affixed  to  the  front  of  St.  James's 
Palace  as  follows :  "  Lost  or  strayed  out  of  this  house,  a  man  who 
has  left  a  wife  and  six  children  on  the  parish.  Whoever  will  give 
any  tidings  of  him  to  the  churchwardens  of  St.  James's  parish, 


116  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 

will  receive  four  shillings  and  sixpence.  Nobody  supposes  that 
he  is  worth  a  crown*  From  incidents  such  as  these  it  wUl  not 
te  difficult  to  estimate  the  real  opinion  which  the  majority  of 
the  subjects  of  the  second  George  entertained  of  his  public 
character,  and  his  private  worth. 

*  Lord  Eervey's  Memoirs  of  the  Court  of  Queen  Caroline. 


CHAPTER   lY. 

George  II.  embarka  for  England— A  Storm  arises — Apprehensions  for  his  Fate — He  nar- 
rowly escapes  Shipwreck — Congratulations  of  the  Eoyal  Family  and  of  Parliament 
— Revenues  of  Prince  Frederic— Coarseness  and  Vulgarity  of  the  King  and  Queen — 
Confinement  of  the  Princess  of  "Wales- Disgraceful  feuds  in  the  Koyal  Family— De- 
clining health  of  the  Queen — Domestic  Scenes— The  Queen's  last  Illness — Iler 
Death — Eidiculoua  Conduct  of  the  Bereaved  Monarch. 

George  II.  took  his  leave  of  the  capital  of  his  Hanoverian  do- 
minions, to  return  to  England,  on  the  7th  of  December.  On 
the  night  previous  to  his  departure  the  fair  and  fascinating  Wal- 
moden  entertained  her  royal  lover  with  a  sumptuous  farewell 
supper,  at  which  both  wine  and  tears  were  shed  abundantly. 
The  king  having  reluctantly  torn  himself  away  from  the  siren, 
arrived  at  Helvoetsluys  on  the  eleventh;  and  although  his 
daughter,  the  Princess  of  Orange,  lay  at  that  moment  very  dan- 
gerously ill  at  the  Hague,  he  hurried  on  without  even  inquiring 
into  her  condition,  or  sending  her  any  message  of  condolence. 
Pie  immediately  embarked  on  board  the  royal  squadron ;  and 
then  ensued  a  series  of  thrilling  incidents  which  very  nearly 
changed  the  future  destinies  of  the  British  succession.  While 
the  inhabitants  of  London  were  expecting  to  hear  of  the  safe  ar- 
rival of  the  king  at  Harwich,  the  wind  suddenly  changed,  a  hur- 
ricane blew  from  the  west  with  terrific  violence,  and  such  an  un- 
paralleled storm  swept  over  the  deep,  that  every  one  concluded 
that,  if  the  king  had  embarked,  he  had  inevitably  gone  to  the 
bottom.  The  excitement  in  London  and  in  the  court,  in  reference 
to  the  royal  fate,  became  intense.  Bets  were  laid  upon  the  issue. 
The  adroit  and  provident  Walpole  began  to  discuss  with  the 
queen  the  probable  results  which  would  follow,  should  their  fears 


118  HISTOKY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 

in  reference  to  the  king  be  realized.  The  queen  became  greatly 
agitated  ;  for  she  knew  that  if  Frederic,  Prince  of  "Wales,  then 
succeeded  to  the  throne,  her  fate  would  be  an  unenviable  one,  in 
consequence  of  the  hostile  feeling  existing  between  them.  While 
this  state  of  anxiety  continued,  news  of  disasters  at  sea  began  to 
reach  London.  Signals  of  distress  had  been  heard  at  Harwich, 
booming  over  the  face  of  the  troubled  waters.  It  was  supposed 
that  these  came  from  the  foundering  royal  fleet — the  solemn  fu- 
neral dirge  of  the  drowning  monarch.  While  the  tempest  still 
raged  over  land  and  sea,  and  while  the  apprehension  was  at  the 
highest,  a  courier  from  the  king  arrived  at  St.  James's,  who  had 
miraculously  escaped  the  devouring  waves ;  and  informed  the 
queen  that  her  husband  had  never  embarked  at  all,  but  that  he 
was  taking  his  comfort  contentedly  at  Helvoetsluys,  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  fair  weather  and  propitious  winds. 

The  king  became  impatient  of  delay,  and  as  soon  as  the 
storm  had  partially  lulled,  he  informed  Sir  Charles  Wager  that 
he  had  determined  to  embark.  The  Admiral  declared  that  he 
judged  the  weather  to  be  still  unsettled,  and  the  sea  dangerous. 
"  Be  the  weather  what  it  may,"  said  the  king,  "  I  am  not  afraid." 
"  I  am,"  responded  the  veteran  seaman.  The  king  answered 
that  he  wanted  to  see  a  storm,  and  would  sooner  be  twelve  hours 
in  one,  than  be  shut  up  twenty-four  in  Helvoetsluys.  "  Twelve 
hours  in  a  storm  !  "  exclaimed  the  Admiral :  "  four  hours  would 
do  the  business  for  you."  After  some  further  delay  the  im- 
patience of  the  monarch  prevailed,  and  the  fleet  set  sail.  A 
tempest  still  more  terrible  than  the  first  instantly  arose,  and  the 
condition  of  the  royal  fleet  became  perilous  in  the  extreme.  Sir 
Charles  made  signal  for  every  vessel  to  provide  for  its  own  safe- 
ty ;  and  immediately  endeavored  to  regain  the  port  of  Helvoet- 
sluys by  tacking.  Meanwhile  at  London,  with  the  renewal  of 
the  storm,  the  public  anxiety  was  increased.  It  was  Christmas  ; 
and  never  before  had  so  dull  a  holiday  been  known  in  the  palace 
of  St.  James.  Walpole  informed  the  queen  of  the  more  assured 
apprehensions  now  entertained  by  her  subjects  as  to  the  king's 
fate ;  and  she  burst  into  tears  at  the  announcement  of  his  certain 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  SECOND.  119 

danger.  The  day  was  also  Sunday,  and  the  queen  determined, 
notwithstanding  her  intense  anxiety,  to  attend  divine  service  as 
usual.  In  the  midst  of  the  service,  she  received  a  letter  from  the 
king's  own  hand,  in  which  he  told  her  to  dismiss  her  fears,  and 
informed  her  that  he  indeed  had  embarked,  that  the  royal  fleet 
had  been  scattered  by  the  storm,  that  he  had  been  tossed  about 
for  twenty  hours  on  the  deep,  in  constant  danger  of  death ;  but 
that  he  had  at  last  reached  Helvoetsluys,  and  that  he  was  alive 
and  safe.  During  the  interval  of  suspense  which  prevailed  in 
London,  the  query  rapidly  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  "  how 
is  the  wind  for  the  king  1 "  and  the  answer  uniformly  given  was : 
"  Like  the  nation ;  against  him." 

The  escaped  and  impatient  monarch  had  seen  enough  of  storms. 
He  had  been  terribly  shaken  by  its  violence  ;  and  nothing  could 
induce  him  to  venture  again  upon  the  treacherous  deep,  until  the 
weather  seemed  most  unmistakably  propitious.  He  delayed,  there- 
fore, five  weeks  in  port,  and  at  length  embarked,  made  a  success- 
ful voyage,  and  arrived  in  London  on  the  15th  of  January,  1737; 
greatly  to  the  joy  of  the  queen,  Eobert  Walpole,  and  the  court 
of  St.  James,  and  as  greatly  to  the  regret  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
the  opposition,  and  the  diminutive  court  in  Leicester  House. 

No  sooner  were  the  conm-atulations  tendered  to  the  kina:  in 
consequence  of  his  escape  concluded,  than  he  was  again  annoyed 
by  the  introduction  into  parliament  of  the  question  of  the  rev- 
enue of  his  detested  son  Frederic.  Walpole  did  his  utmost  to 
prevent  this  result ;  but  the  friends  of  the  prince,  especially  Lord 
Carteret,  were  not  to  be  deterred  from  their  purpose  either  l)y 
entreaties  or  by  threats.  The  prince  demanded  an  absolute  and 
regular  income  of  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  per  year.  A  com- 
promise was  proposed  by  Walpole  in  the  name  of  the  king, 
which  was  declined  by  the  prince,  because  it  was  inadequate  to 
his  necessities.  After  an  animated  debate  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, the  bill  was  lost  by  a  small  majority  ;  but  this  victory  of 
the  court  was  gained  only  by  heavy  bribes  to  leading  members, 
amounting  to  several  thousand  pounds.  Tlie  same  proposition 
was  lost  in  the  House  of  Peers  by  a  still  greater  majority  ;  al- 


120  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

though  it  was  there  supported  by  all  the  eloquence  and  resolu- 
tion of'Lord  Carteret. 

It  will  readily  he  supposed  that  these  disputes  in  the  royal 
household  increased  the  ill  feeling  already  existuig  between  its 
members.  This  was  the  fact ;  and  they  were  not  backward  or 
decorous  in  expressing  their  cordial  hatred  and  disgust  of  each 
other.  Prince  Frederic,  according  to  court  etiquette,  led  his 
royal  mother  to  dinner  by  the  hand  every  day  ;  and  yet  she  re- 
peatedly "  cursed  the  day  in  which  she  had  given  birth  to  that 
nauseous  beast."  His  sister,  the  Princess  Caroline,  was  equally 
malignant,  and  prayed  publicly  and  repeatedly  that "  God  would 
strike  the  brute  dead  with  apoplexy."  The  king  spoke  of  him 
always  as  "  a  brainless,  impertinent  puppy  and  scoundrel." 
Such  was  the  singular  state  of  feeling  prevalent  among  the  mem- 
bers, both  male  and  female,  of  this  exalted  and  exemplary  fam- 
ily.* 

Tlie  chief  defect  in  the  character  of  the  queen  was  the  coarse- 
ness and  bitterness  exhibited  by  her  in  reference  to  this  subject 
These  qualities  she  displayed  on  many  occasions  and  in  different 
ways.  The  king  having  remarked  to  her  that  he  understood 
that  Lords  Carteret,  Chesterfield,  and  Bolingbroke,  were  each 
•writing  the  history  of  their  times,  she  replied  that  the  three  his- 
tories would  be  three  heaps  of  lies ;  but  they  would  be  lies  of 
very  different  descriptions.  Bolingbroke's  would  be  great  lies, 
Chesterfield's  would  be  little  lies,  and  Carteret's  would  be  lies 
of  both  sorts.  We  may  admit  the  wit,  and  even  the  truth  of 
this  sarcasm,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  excuse  its  coarseness 
and  indelicacy  when  emanating  from  a  woman. 

The  attention  of  the  royal  family  and  of  the  public  was  now 
attracted  to  the  anticipated  birth  of  a  lineal  heir  to  the  throne. 
The  Princess  of  Wales  was  near  her  confinement.  When  Queen 
Caroline  was  informed  of  the  fact,  she  immediately  expressed 

*  The  Memoirs  of  Lord  Eervey  furnish  throughout  the  most  abundant  evi 
dence  that  the  representations  above  given  of  the  hostility  which  existed  be- 
tween the  prince  and  his  relatives  are  not  exaggerated,  nor  even  fully  equal  to 
the  revolting  truth. 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   SECOND.  121 

her  determination  to  be  present,  inasmuch  as  she  doubted  the  genu- 
ineness of  the  pregnancy.  She  declared  that  her  son,  the  prince, 
was  such  an  "  infamous  liar,"  and  so  "  great  a  knave,"  that  he 
would  willingly  attempt  to  impose  a  false  issue  upon  the  nation. 
Moreover,  she  added :  "  I  am  resolved  to  be  satisfied  that  the 
child  is  the  princess's  ;  and  it  can't  be  got  through  with  " — she 
added  with  characteristic  coarseness,  "  as  soon  as  one  can  blow 
one's  nose  ! "  To  aid  in  preventing  an  imposition  the  king  gave 
a  peremptory  order  to  the  prince  that  the  birth  should  take  place 
at  Hampton  Court  Palace. 

As  the  period  of  the  accoicckemetit  of  the  princess  approached, 
her  husband  resolved  to  defeat  the  interference  and  scrutiny  of 
his  parents,  and  remove  his  wife  to  his  own  residence  at  St. 
James's  Palace.  He  accomplished  this  purpose  at  midnight  on 
the  31st  of  July,  only  several  hours  before  her  delivery.  She 
was  secretly  conveyed  thither  in  a  carriage,  even  after  her  suffer- 
ings had  begun ;  and  she  came  near  dying  before  she  reached  the 
termination  of  her  journey,  her  husband  constantly  urging  her 
to  take  courage,  and  assuring  her  that  "  it  was  nothing,  and 
would  soon  be  over."  The  princess  was  safely  delivered,  how- 
ever, in  the  presence  of  as  many  of  the  great  officers  of  the  crown 
as  could  be  summoned  under  the  circumstances.  The  Lord  Pres- 
ident Wilmington  and  Lord  Privy  Seal  Godolphin  were  the 
chief  of  these.  Lord  Hervey  and  Queen  Caroline  soon  afterward 
arrived ;  and  the  former  describes  the  infant  as  a  "  little  rat  no 
bigger  tlian  a  toothpick  case."  The  queen,  taking  the  child  in  her 
arms,  closely  scrutinized  it,  and  exclaimed :  "  May  the  good  God 
bless  you,  poor  little  creature,  for  you  have  arrived  in  a  most 
disagreeable  world."  And  the  subsequent  fate,  during  many 
long  years,  of  this  infant,  who  proved  to  be  a  daughter,  amply 
verified  the  declaration  of  the  queen  ;  for  she  afterward  became 
the  wife  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  and  the  mother  of  the  ui> 
happy  spouse  of  George  IV.,  in  connection  with  both  of  whom 
she  suffered  infinite  sorrows. 

But  the  birth  of  this  princess  did  not  alleviate  the  existing 
family  feuds.  After  an  interval  of  nine  days  the  queen  again 
6 


122  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

visited  her  daughter-in-law.  She  remained  an  hour,  during  the 
whole  of  which  time  the  Prince  of  Wales  did  not  address  a  single 
word  to  his  mother.  Etiquette  required  that  he  should  conduct 
her  both  to  his  chamber  and  from  it ;  but  he  performed  even  this 
duty  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  his  courtesy  a  vehicle  of 
contempt.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  queen  had  some  excuse 
for  the  indecorous  and  bitter  hostility  which,  during  many  years, 
she  exhibited  toward  the  heir  apparent  to  the  throne.  This  was 
the  last  occasion  on  which  they  ever  met  each  other ;  so  unexpect- 
edly near  was  the  death  of  the  queen,  and  so  implacable  was 
her  hatred,  that  during  her  last  hours  the  very  name  of  her  son 
elicited  the  most  intense  execration.  On  the  part  of  the  prince, 
he  publicly  boasted  what  he  would  do  when  he  became  king. 
His  mother  should  be  fleeced,  flayed,  and  minced.  The  Princess 
Amelia  should  be  kept  in  strict  confinement.  He  would  leave 
the  Princess  Caroline  to  starve.  Of  the  youngest  princesses, 
Maiy  and  Louisa,  at  that  time  fourteen  and  thirteen  years  of 
age,  he  made  no  particular  mention;  nor  of  his  brother,  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  during  all  his  life  had  been  the  spe- 
cial favorite  of  his  parents.  Efforts  were  indeed  made  by  the 
Princess  of  Wales,  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  and  by  other 
courtiers  to  heal  this  unseemly  and  disgraceful  feud,  but  all  to  no 
pui'pose.*  The  same  hostile  sentiments  continued  to  exist  until 
the  father,  mother,  and  son,  all  reposed  in  the  dreamless  slumber 
of  the  tomb.  In  this  domestic  controversy  the  prince  stood  ar- 
rayed against  his  Avhole  family.  George  II.  himself  was  as  bitter 
as  his  queen  ;  but  the  undutiful  conduct  of  his  son  produced  far 
loss  effect  upon  his  spirit,  than  upon  that  of  his  more  susceptible 
wife.     His  nature  was  too  cold,  too  selfish,  too  unsynipathizing, 


*  This  will  readily  be  believed  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  Queen,  in 
speaking  of  her  detested  "  Fritz,"  thus  addressed  herself  to  Lord  Hervey :  "  My 
dear  Lord,  I  will  give  it  you  under  my  hand,  if  you  have  any  fear  of  my  re- 
lapsing, that  my  dear  first-born  is  the  greatest  ass,  the  greatest  liar,  the  greatest 
canaille,  and  the  greatest  beast,  in  the  whole  world ;  and  that  I  most  heartily 
wish  he  was  out  of  it."  What  a  singular  utterance  of  maternal  feeling  is  this, 
in  reference  to  the  first  oifspring  of  conjugal  affection  ! 


LIFE   AND   REIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   SECOND.  123 

to  be  lacerated  by  any  misfortune  which  did  not  directly  aflect 
either  his  pocket,  his  prerogatives,  his  safety,  or  his  pleasures. 

In  1737  Queen  Caroline  began  to  feel  the  certain  approach 
of  death.  For  some  years  she  had  been  afflicted  with  rupture  ; 
but  she  had  imprudently  concealed  both  the  nature  and  the  exist- 
ence of  her  malady  from  her  medical  attendants,  and  even  from 
her  husband.  She  always  shuddered  at  the  thought  of  death, 
and  she  avoided  all  allusions  and  references  to  so  repulsive  a 
subject.  She  also  feared  that,  if  it  were  known  that  she  was 
thus  afflicted,  the  possibility  of  her  death  might  diminish  her 
influence  over  the  king  and  over  the  courtiers.  But  the  monarch 
long  suspected,  from  certain  indications  which  the  queen  could 
not  conceal,  that  she  was  thus  diseased  ;  but  to  all  his  inquiries 
she  constantly  returned  a  positive  and  absolute  denial.  Sir 
Robert  WaljDole,  in  the  long  interviews  which  he  held  with  her, 
had  discovered  that  she  was  afflicted  with  some  secret  malady  ; 
but  she  endeavored  to  deceive  him  also,  and  often  stood  for  a 
considerable  length  of  time  in  his  presence,  to  convince  him  of 
the  fallacy  of  his  conjectures. 

But  this  system  of  deception  could  not  continue  forever; 
and  at  length  in  August  1737,  the  Queen  became  worse.  A 
report  soon  became  prevalent  that  she  was  dead ;  but  it  was 
premature  and  false.  She  rallied  for  a  few  days,  yet  on  the  9th 
of  November  she  was  seized  with  the  illness  which  terminated 
in  her  dissolution.  Dr.  Tessier  was  called  in,  who  administered 
an  elixir  which  for  a  time  alleviated  her  pains.  The  improvement 
was  only  temporary,  and  her  sufferings  increased  while  her 
strength  diminished.  Cordials  and  various  other  remedies  in- 
cluding Usquebaugh  were  given,  but  without  any  alleviation  of 
her  condition.  The  Princess  Caroline  seemed  much  affected  at 
the  sufferings  of  her  mother ;  but  the  king  exhibited  his  usual 
apathy.  Even  yet,  until  the  12th  of  November,  the  patient  ob- 
stinately concealed  from  her  physicians  the  true  nature  of  her 
disease.  Dr.  Ranby  was  by  this  time  also  in  attendance.  He 
was  permitted  to  examine  the  person  of  the  queen ;  and  he  con- 
trived to  satisfy  himself  without  her  aid  of  the  real  cause  of  her 


12ti  HISTOEY   OF  THE  FOUK   GEORGES. 

sufferings.  He  immediately  gave  utterance  to  his  suspicions  in 
the  royal  bed-chamber ;  but  the  queen,  ill  as  she  was,  abused 
him  for  his  frankness  as  a  "  blockhead."  So  mortified  was  she 
at  the  discovery,  that  she  actually  shed  tears.  Shipton  and 
Bussier,  the  most  distinguished  surgeons  of  the  time,  "svere 
instantly  summoned.  After  an  examination  of  the  person  of 
the  queen  they  promptly  suggested  an  operation.  The  patient 
submitted,  and  endured  the  agony  which  ensued  without  a  mur- 
mur. Her  wit  and  sarcasm  did  not  forsake  her  even  when  under 
the  knife ;  for  she  remarked  to  Dr.  Ranby  the  operator  at  that 
moment,  that  she  had  no  doubt  he  was  sorry  that  his  patient 
was,  not  herself,  but  his  own  aged  and  ugly  wife. 

While  in  this  critical  and  painful  condition,  she  was  thrown 
into  a  paroxysm  of  rage  in  consequence  of  a  message  which  was 
sent  to  the  palace  from  Prince  Frederic,  inquiring  after  the 
health  of  his  mother.  She  knew  that  the  information  was  asked 
in  the  spirit  of  satirical  exultation ;  and  almost  with  her  dying 
breath  she  cursed  the  son,  whom  she  hated  with  a  hatred  passing 
that  of  a  step-mother.  She  besought  the  king  not  to  permit  the 
reprobate  to  approach  her  chamber  while  living,  nor  to  see  her 
remains  when  dead  ;  she  said  she  knew  "  he  would  blubber  like 
a  calf  in  her  presence,  and  laugh  at  her  the  moment  he  left  it." 

The  remedies  which  were  applied  for  the  rupture  with 
which  the  queen  was  afflicted  proved  unavailing  because  they 
came  too  late.  On  Sunday  the  13th,  she  was  much  worse.  The 
wound  had  begun  to  mortify.  The  queen  was  apprised  by  her 
medical  attendants  of  her  critical  condition ;  and  she  bore  the 
announcement  with  great  calmness  and  self-possession.  The 
feeble-minded  king  was  much  more  affected  at  the  near  prospect 
of  the  dissolution  of  his  wife  than  she ;  and  began  to  be  im- 
pressed with  the  solem.nity  of  the  occasion.  As  her  last  hour 
was  supposed  to  be  near,  the  royal  family  were  all  summoned 
to  her  bedside,  except  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  was  excluded, 
and  the  Princess  of  Orange,  who  was  absent.  Then  ensued  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  death-bed  scenes  which  Las  ever  been 
witnessed  either  among  royal  or  plebeian  moribunds.    The  queen 


LIFE   AND   EEIQN   OF   GEOKGE  TIIE   SECOND.  125 

took  a  solemn  leave  of  her  children.  She  spoke  kindly  to  her 
daughter  Amelia.  She  used  still  more  tender  words  to  the 
Princess  Caroline.  Ilcr  farewell  to  her  favorite  son,  the  young 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  afterward  the  hero  of  Culloden,  was 
affecting  in  the  extreme.  Her  two  youngest  daughters,  Louisa 
and  Mary,  she  intrusted  to  the  special  care  of  the  gentle  Caro- 
line. The  utterances  of  the  queen  were  rendered  almost  inaudible 
by  the  exclamations  of  grief  which  filled  the  chamber.  Last  of 
all  the  king  himself  approached  to  bid  his  wife  farewell.  She 
took  from  her  hand  her  marriage  ring,  and  placed  it  on  the  finger 
of  her  husband.  She  declared  that  for  all  the  greatness  and  happi- 
ness which  had  fallen  to  her  share  in  this  world,  she  was  indebted 
alone  to  him,  and  that  all  she  possessed  should  return  to  him. 
The  little  monarch  seemed  to  be  overcome  by  his  emotions,  and 
he  was  heard  to  exclaim,  amid  his  sobs  and  groans,  that  she  had 
ever  been  to  him  the  best  of  wives.  The  dying  queen  was 
comforted  by  this  assurance ;  and  proceeded  to  say  that  she  hoped 
her  husband  would  marry  again  after  her  death.  He  appeared 
to  be  quite  astounded  at  this  suggestion ;  and  declared  that, 
after  the  loss  of  so  admirable  a  wife,  he  never  could  think  of 
placing  any  substitute  in  her  stead.  The  queen  persisted  in  her 
recommendation,  and  the  king  persisted  in  his  refusal ;  but  at 
length,  in  the  midst  of  his  heart-breaking  sobs,  he  added  that, 
though  he  never  could  marry  again,  he  might  go  so  far  as  to  take 
a  mistress  or  two.  "  My  God,"  exclaimed  the  queen  almost 
with  her  dying  breath,  "  why  not  do  both  1  the  one  does  not  pre- 
vent the  other  ! " 

Nor  was  this  extraordinary  threat  of  the  king  an  empty  one ; 
for  immediately  after  the  burial  of  the  queen,  he  sent  orders  to 
Madam  Walmoden  to  remove  without  delay  to  England,  and 
assigned  her  apartments  in  the  palace  of  St,  James ;  while  at  the 
same  time  he  promoted,  or  degraded,  Lady  Deloraine  to  the  same 
bad  eminence  as  one  of  the  royal  mistresses. 

The  patient  sank  very  rapidly  ;  and  the  princess  Amelia 
suggested  to  the  king,  the  father  of  this  family  of  royal  heathens, 
that  it  might  perhaps  do  no  harm  to  the  queen  if  a  priest  were 


126  mSTOEY   OF   THE   FOUE   GEOKGES. 

sent  for,  and  the  usual  forms  of  religion  were  observed.  The 
king  was  indifferent  either  way ;  and  Dr.  Potter,  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  whom  the  queen  had  often  complimented  with  the 
assurance  that  he  was  a  fool,  was  ordered  to  attend.  What  passed 
in  the  royal  bedchamber  is  not  known.  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
the  queen  did  not  receive  the  eucharist.  It  is  also  certain  that 
she  refused  to  the  last  to  be  reconciled  to  the  "  cursed  Fritz." 
The  king  uniformly  kept  out  of  the  way,  as  long  as  the  visits 
of  the  Archbishop  continued.  The  curiosity  of  the  courtiers  to 
ascertain  what  occurred  in  the  bedchamber  was  not  satisfied ; 
and  all  that  the  most  adroit  questioning  could  extort  from  the 
prudent  prelate  was,  that  "  her  majesty  was  in  a  heavenly  state 
of  mind." 

This  indeed  is  very  doubtful ;  for,  during  her  last  hours,  the 
sufferer  became  profanely  impatient  and  restless.  "  How  long 
can  this  last  1 "  she  demanded  of  Dr.  Tessier.  He  replied :  "  It 
cannot  be  very  long  before  your  majesty  will  be  relieved  from 
your  sufferings."  "  The  sooner  that  happens  the  better,"  was 
her  sharp  response.  Sunday  the  20th  of  September  dawned ;  and 
it  was  the  last  day  she  was  destined  to  live.  She  now  sank 
rapidly,  the  mortification  had  greatly  extended,  and  at  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  drawing  a  long  sigh,  uttering  the  word 
"  so  "  with  a  deep  aspiration,  and  with  a  queenly  and  farewell 
wave  of  the  hand,  she  gently  expired.  The  princess  Caroline 
•approached,  placed  a  glass  before  the  mouth  of  the  corpse,  and 
finding  it  unsullied  by  a  breath,  exclaimed,  "  'Tis  over."  The 
widowed  monarch  repeatedly  kissed  the  hands  and  face  of  the 
defunct  with  passionate  ardor ;  and  turning  round  to  the  cour- 
tiers and  attendants  delivered  a  long  harangue  upon  the  extraor- 
dinary virtues  and  merits  of  his  wife.  While  thus  engaged  the 
king  discovered  Horace  Walpole  in  the  background,  who  was 
trying  to  weep  for  fashion's  sake ;  but  who  accomplished  the 
feat  in  so  ludicrous  a  manner,  that  the  monarch  stopped  his  speech, 
gazed  at  Walpole  for  a  moment,  and  then  burst  into  a  roar  of 
laughter.  Such  were  the  mingled  scenes  of  solemnity  and 
buffoonery  vrhich  were  enacted  around  the  deathbed  of  Caroline 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   SECOND.  127 

Wilhelmina  Dorothea  of  Brandenburg-Anspach,  the  most 
talented  of  all  the  queens  of  the  royal  house  of  Hanover.  For 
many  weeks  after  her  death,  the  king  continued  to  expatiate  at 
great  length  to  the  circle  of  the  court,  upon  the  unparalleled 
excellences  of  his  departed  spouse,  assured  them  that  she  was  the 
only  woman  in  the  world  whom  he  would  have  married ;  and 
declared  that  if  he  could  not  have  made  her  his  wife,  she  should 
inevitably  have  been  his  mistress.  The  only  word  or  deed  of 
the  king  in  reference  to  her,  which  deserved  to  be  recorded  to 
his  praise,  was  the  order  which  he  gave  that  the  salaries  of  all 
her  officers  and  servants  should  be  continued,  as  well  as  her 
benefactions  to  benevolent  institutions,  so  that  no  one  might  suffer 
by  her  death  except  himself. 


CHAPTER    V. 


Fate  of  the  Queen's  Favorites — Lord  Hervey — Intellectual  and  Moral  Character  of  the 
defunct  Queen— Spanish  Aggressions — The  National  Forces  Augmented — "War  De- 
clared against  Spain— Events  of  the  War— Cabal  in  Parliament  against  Walpole- Its 
Failure — Hostility  of  the  Prince  of  TTales  to  the  Minister — Walpole  compelled  at 
last  to  Eesign — His  Services  to  the  Monarch. 


The  death  of  Queen  Caroline  produced  but  little  alteration  in 
the  pursuits,  employments,  and  pleasures  of  the  king.  He  had 
"been  her  unconscious  slave  during  her  lifetime ;  and  after  her 
decease  he  was  governed  directly  by  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  who 
had  previously  used  the  queen  as  his  pliant  intermediate  instru- 
ment. With  her  passed  away  for  a  time  the  influence  and  im- 
portance of  her  favorite,  John  Lord  Hervey,  who,  for  some 
years  had  occupied  the  post  of  confidant,  attendant,  and  pur- 
veyor of  amusements  to  her  majesty.  He  was  a  singular  man, 
and  was  possessed  of  considerable  ability.  His  appearance  and 
manners  in  conversation  were  effeminate  in  the  extreme  ;  yet  his 
political  writings,  in  which  he  particularly  assailed  Bolingbroke 
and  Pulteney,  were  unsurpassed  for  the  bitterness  of  their  satire, 
the  fierceness  of  their  invective,  and  their  general  spirit  and 
vigor.  In  1730  he  was  challenged  by  Pulteney  to  the  field  of 
combat,  in  consequence  of  an  acrimonious  and  bitter  attack  which 
he  made  upon  that  statesman.  They  met ;  both  were  slightly 
wounded ;  and  Mr.  Pulteney  would  have  inevitably  run  his  an- 
tagonist through  the  body  had  not  his  foot  opportunely  slipped. 
The  former  immediately  embraced  Lord  Harvey,  congratulated 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  SECOND.  129 

him  on  his  escape,  and  promised  never  to  attack  him  again.* 
The  friendship  of  Lord  Ilervey,  and  afterward  his  enmity  toward 
the  poet  Pope,  have  also  been  celebrated.  They  both  wrote 
poetical  satires  against  each  other,  in  which  they  descended  to  the 
most  bitter  ridicule  and  abuse  of  each  others'  personal  deformi- 
ties, and  neither  gained  any  credit.  In  May,  1T40,  Lord  Hervey 
attained  his  highest  political  elevation  ;  being  appointed  Keeper 
of  the  Privy  Seal,  and  one  of  the  Lord  Justices  for  governing 
the  kingdom  during  the  absence  of  the  monarch  in  Hanover. 
The  character  of  this  singular  man  was  marked  on  the  one  hand 
by  extreme  afloctation,  by  great  bitterness  of  invective,  and  by 
abject  flattery  of  his  superiors ;  and  on  the  other  by  a  disposi- 
tion to  pratronize  men  of  letters,  and  an  ability  to  be  exceeding- 
ly agreeable  and  fascinating  in  his  manners.  The  foundation  of 
the  decided  partiality  which  Queen  Caroline  entertained  for  him, 
and  which  continued  unabated  until  her  death,  was  her  admira- 
tion of  his  admirable  conversational  powers,  and  his  unrivalled 
capacity  to  amuse  her  by  his  mingled  wit,  satire,  gossip,  and 
sympathy.  It  is  well  known  that  he  inspired  the  amiable 
princess  Caroline  with  a  most  romantic  passion,  even  after  he  had 
married  the  beautiful  Mary  Lepel ;  which  did  not  terminate  at 
the  premature  death  of  its  object,  but  which  rendered  the  prin- 
cess the  victim  of  a  morbid,  a  hopeless,  and  eventually  a  fatal 
melancholy. 

But  little  difference  of  opinion  has  ever  existed  in  reference 
to  the  intellectual  character  of  the  wife  of  George  II.  She  pos- 
sessed a  strong,  clear,  and  penetrating  understanding.  She  was 
not  deficient  in  adroitness  and  cunning.  She  generally  estimated 
persons  and  things  according  to  their  real  value.     She  was  to 

*  The  satirists  of  the  time  attacked  this  duel  with  their  usual  keenness.    One 
of  their  effusions  was  as  follows,  addressed  to  Mr.  Pulteney : 

Lord  Fanny  once, 

Did  play  the  dunce, 
And  challenged  you  to  fight ; 

And  so  he  stood, 

To  loose  his  blood. 
But  had  a  dreadful  fright. 

6* 


130  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

some  extent  a  patron  of  literature,  "but  she  was  injudicious  in 
the  distribution  of  her  favors.  She  was  particularly  partial  to 
divines  who  belonged  to  the  heterodox  school,  among  whom 
were  Whiston,  Clarke,  and  Bishops  Gibson  and  Berkley.  It  was 
certainly  a  singular  whim  in  a  worldly,  ambitious,  and  fashion- 
able woman,  such  as  Caroline  unquestionably  was,  that  she  be- 
came fond  of  reading  "  Butler's  Anology,"  the  most  abtruse 
and  profound  production  within  the  whole  range  of  English  lit- 
erature ;  in  reference  to  which  work  Bishop  Hoadly  declared 
that  even  to  look  at  it  gave  him  a  headache.  She  was  also  par- 
ticularly pleased  with  Warburton's  "  Alliance  between  Church 
and  State."  She  derived  great  pleasure  from  the  controversies 
of  those  intellectual  colossi.  Dr.  Clarke  and  Leibnitz.  She 
watched  the  progress  of  their  disputes  with  intense  interest,  and 
applauded  with  discretion  where  applause  was  due.  A  woman 
who  could  understand  and  appreciate  the  writings  of  such  men, 
must  herself  be  the  possessor  of  no  ordinary  intellect.  The 
chief  blemish  of  her  character  was  her  disposition  to  excuse  and 
encourage  the  licentious  partiality  of  her  husband  for  mistresses. 
She  saw  that  his  weakness  lay  that  way  ;  that  to  oppose  or  con- 
demn him  would  but  weaken  her  own  influence  over  him ;  that 
nothing  would  please  him  better  than  to  submit  to  his  will,  and 
acquiesce  with  a  good  grace ;  that  by  protecting  the  royal  favor- 
ites, she  transformed  them  into  complacent  and  effective  tools  to 
accomplish  her  purposes ;  and  neither  her  principle,  her  pride, 
or  her  affection  allowed  her  to  hesitate  for  a  moment  in  pursuing 
such  a  course  of  conduct.  Morally  speaking,  therefore,  she  be- 
came a  partner  in  his  guilt,  and  she  deserves  a  portion  of  the 
blame  which  justly  attaches  to  it.  Many  incidents  occurred  after 
her  death  to  illustrate  the  intense  admiration  with  which  she  had 
inspired  the  mind  of  her  weak,  vain,  and  superficial  husband. 
When  speaking  to  Walpole  respecting  her  merits,  he  frequently 
burst  into  tears.  Having  been  informed  that  Baron  Brinkman 
possessed  an  excellent  portrait  of  her,  which  he  had  never  seen,  he 
sent  for  him,  and  requested  him  to  produce  it.  The  Baron  obeyed. 
The  king  contemplated  the  picture  for  some  time  intently,  and 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE   SECOND.  131 

then  exclaimed  :  "  It  is  like  her."  He  then  ordered  the  owner 
of  the  treasure  to  leave  him  alone  till  he  rang  for  him.  During 
two  hours  the  Baron  waited  in  the  ante-chamber,  while  the  be- 
reaved monarch  continued  to  contemplate  the  counterfeit  resem- 
blance of  the  only  woman  who  had  ever  impressed  his  mind 
with  any  thing  like  respect  and  esteem.  Having  at  length  sum- 
moned the  Baron,  he  said :  "  Take  it  away  !  take  it  away !  I 
never  yet  saw  the  woman  worthy  to  buckle  her  shoe."  No 
sooner  had  the  Baron  disappeared  with  his  prize,  than  the  aged 
king,  grasping  his  amber-headed  cane,  hurried  off  to  the  apart- 
ment of  Madam  "Walmoden,  to  whom  he  had  given  the  title  of 
Lady  Yarmouth. 

In  regard  to  the  religious  opinions  of  Queen  Caroline,  it  is 
difficult  to  attain  any  definite  conclusion,  as  she  was  most  proba- 
bly herself  unsettled  on  the  subject.  She  attended  the  regular 
services  of  the  established  church,  and  conformed  to  all  its  cere- 
monies ;  but  Lord  Chesterfield  declares  that,  in  reality,  after 
having  studied  all  systems  and  all  schools,  she  had  ultimately 
settled  down  in  Deism,  being  convinced  only  of  the  existence  of 
a  God,  and  of  a  future  state.  It  is  probable  that  the  judgment  of 
this  celebrated  magister  elegantiarum  is  correct ;  and  that  the 
character  of  his  royal  mistress  might  be  thus  briefly  and  truly 
summed  up  :  she  was  a  talented,  amiable,  and  benevolent 
woman ;  but  scarcely  a  good,  and  much  less  a  pious  or  devout 
woman. 

Having  thus  traced  the  chief  incidents  of  the  domestic  life  of 
George  II.  until  the  death  of  his  queen,  it  will  be  pi-oper  to  re- 
sume the  history  of  the  public  and  political  events  of  his  reign. 
The  propitious  era  of  peace  terminated  with  the  life  of  Caroline ; 
for  her  potent  influence,  combined  with  that  of  Robert  Walpole, 
uniformly  succeeded  in  allaying  the  hostile  and  warlike  propen- 
sities of  the  king,  and  ending  all  disputes  with  foreign  powers  in 
amicable  adjustments.  In  1738,  continued  Spanish  outrages  upon 
English  commerce  in  South  American  waters  drove  the  ministry 
into  a  war.  Early  in  that  year  petitions  were  presented  to  par- 
liament from  the  mercantile  cities  of  the  realm,  setting  forth  the 


132  HISTORY   OF   TKE   FOUK   GEOEGES. 

losses  which  tliey  had  suffered  from  this  source,  and  earnestly 
demanding  protection  and  relief.  The  House  proceeded  to  hear 
counsel  for  the  merchants  and  to  examine  the  evidence.  They 
became  greatly  incensed  at  the  cruel  excesses  which  that  evi- 
dence revealed  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  cruisers ;  and  they 
voted  an  unanimous  address  to  the  king  beseeching  him  to  use 
his  endeavors  to  obtain  effectual  relief  for  his  injured  subjects, 
and  demand  full  indemnity  from  the  King  of  Spain,  promising 
to  support  him  in  the  execution  of  any  measures  which  he  should 
deem  necessary  and  expedient.  To  this  memorial  the  king  re- 
turned a  favorable  answer,  and  in  May  the  parliament  was  pro- 
rogued. 

During  the  ensuing  recess  Walpole  put  forth  his  utmost 
efforts  to  arrange  the  difficulties  which  existed  between  the  two 
countries  by  new  negotiations.  A  treaty  was  eventually  signed 
at  Madrid,  by  which  the  King  of  Spain  once  more  bound  himself 
to  make  reparation  for  the  losses  already  inflicted  on  British  sub- 
jects by  Spanish  cruisers,  and  to  prevent  similar  outrages  in 
future.  Parliament  again  convened  in  February,  1739;  and 
when  the  minister  communicated  the  terms  of  this  new  compact, 
they  were  treated  with  the  utmost  ridicule  and  contempt.  The 
amount  of  indemnity  allowed  by  Spain  for  the  injuries  inflicted, 
which  did  not  exceed  ninety-five  thousand  pounds,  was  especially 
deprecated  as  utterly  inadequate  to  the  real  demands  of  the  occa- 
sion ;  and  the  opposition  declared,  with  much  bitterness  and  with 
some  truth,  that  this  sum  would  scarcely  cover  the  expenses  in- 
curred by  the  English  commissioners  who  were  sent  to  effect  the 
treaty.  After  those  expenses  were  accurately  ascertained,  it  was 
found  that  a  balance  of  only  twenty  thousand  pounds  would  have 
remained  over  their  outlay. 

The  ministry,  at  the  conclusion  of  an  animated  debate,  car- 
ried an  address  of  approbation  to  the  king  by  a  small  majority 
of  twenty-eight.  In  the  House  of  Peers  seventy-three  members 
voted  against  it ;  and  after  its  passage,  thirty-nine  signed  a  bold 
and  decisive  protest  against  the  treaty.  The  Commons  then  al- 
lowed the  sum  of  five  hundred  thousand  pounds,  to  augment  the 


LIFE  AND   EEIGX   OF   GEORGE  THE   SECOND.  133 

forces  of  Great  Britain  in  case  of  emergency.  In  June,  1739, 
parliament  was  informed  that  the  S2:)anish  monarch  had  not  yet 
paid  the  sum  stipulated  in  the  recent  treaty  of  Madrid.  The 
patience  of  the  house  was  at  length  exhausted ;  the  neglect  was 
justly  regarded  as  an  insult  to  the  nation  and  the  monarch  ;  and 
a  vote  was  passed  ordering  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  to  be 
instantly  issued  against  the  Spaniards.  This  decisive  step  was 
in  substance  a  declaration  of  war.  In  October,  1730,  the  formal 
declaration  of  hostilities  against  Spain  was  made.  The  nation 
received  the  announcement  with  luiiversal  exultation,  and  Ad- 
miral Vernon  Avas  immediately  sent  with  a  powerful  squadron 
to  the  West  Indies.  That  exultation  was  increased  when  the 
news  arrived  that  the  city  of  Porto-Bello,  situated  on  the  Isthmus 
of  Darion,  had  been  bombarded  and  taken  by  that  gallant  vete- 
ran. The  Admiral  received  a  vote  of  thanks  from  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  became  at  once  the  popular  idol  of  the  nation. 
Having  returned  to  England  covered  with  glory,  he  was  placed 
in  command  of  a  formidable  armament  intended  to  attack  Car- 
thagena  on  the  Spanish  main.  Lord  Wentworth  was  appointed 
commander  of  the  land  forces.  But  not  a  single  achievement  of 
any  importance  followed ;  and  the  elated  Admiral  fell  at  once 
from  the  sudden  and  giddy  elevation  which  he  had  attained  in 
the  popular  estimation,  to  a  place  even  lower  than  that  which 
he  actually  deserved.*  A  squadron  dispatched  to  the  South 
Seas,  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Anson,  to  annoy  the 
Spanish  settlements  located  there,  was  more  successful.  The 
Commodore  took  a  great  number  of  valuable  prizes  off  the  coasts 

*  The  Admiral  was  assailed  after  his  return,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the 
times,  with  a  flood  of  satires  and  caricatures.  As  a  specimen  of  the  former  we 
may  quote  the  following,  which  is  but  a  single  stanza  of  a  lengthy  ode : 

"  I,  by  twenty  sail  attended, 

Did  this  Spanish  town  affright : 
Nothing  then  its  wealth  defended 

But  my  orders  not  to  fight. 
Oh!  that  in  this  rolling  ocean 

I  had  cast  them  with  disdain, 
And  obey'd  my  heart's  warm  motion 

To  have  quell'd  the  pride  of  Spain ! " 


134  mSTOEY   OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEGES. 

of  Chili  and  Peru  ;  he  plundered  the  town  of  Paita ;  and  he  even 
threatened  to  attack  the  capital  city  of  Lima.  On  his  return 
home  he  captured  a  Spanish  galleon  freighted  with  an  immense 
treasure  ;  and  after  having  circumnavigated  the  glohe,  he  safely 
reached  England,  the  object  of  universal  applause,  and  the  possessor 
of  the  same  dizzy  eminence  in  the  popular  estimation,  from  which 
the  unhappy  Vernon  had  so  ignominiously  and  suddenly  fallen. 

The  year  1740  was  distinguished  by  a  desperate  attempt 
made  in  both  houses  of  parliament,  to  expel  Sir  Robert  Walpole 
from  the  post  of  prime  minister.  The  war  with  Spain  was  pop- 
ular with  the  nation ;  but  it  operated  singularly  and  adversely 
upon  the  minister's  influence,  because  it  was  kno'svn  that  he  was 
reluctantly  driven  into  it.  During  the  year  1739,  nothing  but 
disasters  and  defeats  attended  the  British  arms  ;  and  these  were 
ascribed  to  his  lukewarmness  and  treachery  in  conducting  hos- 
tilities. The  Spanish  cruisers  captured  a  vast  number  of  British 
prizes.  The  fleets  stationed  off"  the  coasts  of  Spain  accomplished 
no  honorable  achievement.  Tlie  French  government,  embold- 
ened by  the  posture  of  affairs,  repaired  the  fortifications  of  Dun- 
kirk, in  violation  of  the  express  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht.  A  French  fleet  even  sailed  to  the  West  Indies  to  aid 
the  Spaniards  in  their  aggressions  on  British  commerce.  Very 
great  apprehensions  were  felt  lest  Jamaica  should  fall  under  their 
combined  attacks.  All  these  calamities  were  charged  upon  the 
minister,  who  was  condemned  by  the  popular  voice,  both  for  the 
part  which  he  took  in  the  war,  and  for  the  part  w^hich  he  did  not 
take.  Mr.  Sandys,  soon  after  the  opening  of  parliament  in  No- 
vember, 1740,  having  made  a  furious  attack  in  the  Commons  upon 
the  measures  which  had  been  pursued  by  the  minister  during  his 
long  tenure  of  oflice,  moved  that  an  address  be  presented  to  the 
king  "  beseeching  his  majesty  that  he  would  be  graciously  pleased 
to  remove  the  Right  Honorable  Sir  Robert  Walpole  from  his 
majesty's  presence  and  counsels  for  ever."  A  violent  and  pro- 
tracted debate  ensued,  during  which  Mr.  Pulteney  especially 
distinguished  himself  by  the  fierceness  and  acrimony  of  his  attack 
upon  his  former  associate  and  friend.     Sir  Robert  defended  him 


LIFE  AND  REIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE   SECOND.  135 

self  with  more  than  his  usual  power  and  ability.  He  prov'ed 
that  all  the  successive  measures  of  his  administration  had  been 
adapted  to  the  changing  exigencies  of  the  times ;  that  they  had 
received  the  repeated  and  decisive  approbation  of  parliament ; 
and  that  they  had  uniformly  promoted  the  national  prosperity 
and  glory.  The  motion  of  Mr.  Sandys  was  finally  rejected  by  a 
large  majority.  A  similar  proposition,  introduced  into  the  house 
of  Peers  by  Lord  Carteret,  met  with  a  similar  fate ;  though  it 
became  apparent  that  these  violent  attacks  upon  the  measures 
and  the  authority  of  the  premier  weakened  his  position,  and  fore- 
shadowed his  approaching  fall  at  no  very  distant  day. 

The  party  both  in  parliament  and  out  of  parliament  who 
were  the  implaca])le  opponents  of  Walpole,  grew  in  strength, 
numbers,  and  resolution  from  day  to  day.  When  the  Legislature  1 
assembled  in  December,  1741,  the  king  delivered  a  speech  from 
the  throne,  in  which  he  recommended  the  support  and  defence  of 
the  Pragmatic  Sanction.  This  step  was  equivalent  to  inviting 
the  British  people  to  expend  their  blood  and  treasure  in  protect- 
ing the  vast  dominions  of  JNIaria  Theresa — in  whose  integrity  and 
safety  they  had  not  the  slightest  interest — from  the  attacks  of 
her  continental  enemies.  When  the  usual  address  of  thanks  was 
proposed,  a  storm  of  opposition  arose  against  the  motion.  It  was 
urged  with  great  force  and  reason,  that  the  British  nation  had 
been  fighting  the  quarrels  and  defending  the  interests  of  their 
allies  long  enough  ;  that  such  a  policy  had  entailed  a  debt  upon 
the  nation  numbering  many  millions ;  and  that  England  had 
been  during  some  years  constantly  engaged  in  war,  in  order 
that  others  might  enjoy  all  the  advantages  of  peace.  The  ad- 
dress underwent  some  material  alterations,  and  was  then  passed, 
in  consequence  of  the  prodigious  exertions  of  the  ministry. 

But  the  storm  had  not  passed  away.  It  yet  lowered  over 
the  head  of  the  minister ;  increased  continually  in  blackening 
fury ;  and  at  last  burst  upon  him  with  such  resistless  violence 
that  he  was  utterly  swept  away.  A  number  of  candidates  be- 
longing to  the  court  party  had  been  returned  for  Westminster. 
Their  seats  were  contested,  and  ultimately  declared  void  by  a 


136  HISTOEY   OF   TirE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

majority  of  four.     The  loss  of  these  votes  placed  the  minister  in 
a  minority.     A  great  party,  composed  of  the  leading  men  in  the 
nation  had  by  this  time  organized  an  opposition  to  Walpole,  so 
compact,  so  resolute,  and  so  able,  that  even  that  veteran  giant 
was  overwhelmed  by  them.     They  included  in  their  number, 
Carteret,  Pulteney,  Bolingbroke,  Chesterfield,  Argyle,  Dodding- 
ton,  Pitt,  Windham,   Littleton,   Pope,  Swift,  Gay,  Arbuthnot, 
Johnson,  Akenside,  and  Thompson  ;  each  of  whom  assailed  Wal- 
pole with  their  respective  weapons  of  intellectual  gladiator  ship, 
with  unsurpassed  fierceness  and  acrimony.     All  the  resources  of 
eloquence,  logic,  satire,  invective,  philosophical  disquisition,  poet- 
ical effusion,  political  strategy,  diplomatical  craft,  aristocratical 
influence,   popular   enthusiasm,   and   demagogical  frenzy,  were 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  fated  minister.     The  opposition  had 
gradually  drawn  ^Tsnthin  its  bosom  all  the  young  and  aspiring 
men  of  talent,  all  the  mature  and  experienced  statesmen  of  riper 
years,  all  the  disappointed  place-hunters  and  Whigs  about  the 
court  and  in  parliament,  all  the  personal  enemies  of  Walpole, 
all  the  political  and  private  friends  of  Frederic,  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  the  whole  Tory  party  in  a  body.     After  the  death  of  the 
queen,  Walpole  had,  beside  the  energy  of  his  own  extraordinary 
abilities,  but  one  supporter — the  unprincipled,  feeble  and  selfish 
king.     It  is  true  that  this  heterogeneous  company  were  not  united 
in  their  views  of  policy.     They  difiered,  and  differed  widely,  on 
many  grave  and  fundamental  points — in  reference  to  septennial 
parliaments,  in  reference  to  increasing  the  revenue  of  the  heir  ap- 
parent, and  in  reference  to  the  war  with  Spain.    But  unhappily  for 
Walpole  they  all  agreed,  without  a  single  dissenting  voice,  on  the 
propriety  and  necessity  of  pulling  him  down  from  his  high  place. 
They  either  believed  him  to  be,  or  they  represented  him  as  be- 
ing, the  great  and  sole  cause  of  all  the  evils,  both  external  and 
internal,  domestic  and  foreign,  which  afflicted  the  country.     Were 
he  removed  they  contended  that  all  would  be  well.     They  even 
went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  the  other  members  of  the  adminis- 
tration, whom  they  well  knew  to  be  but  cyphers  inider  the  in- 
fluence of  the  overshadowing  ambition  of  Walpole,  might,  if  he 
were  crushed,  still  be  allowed  to  retain  their  oflfices. 


LITE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   SECOND.  137 

Long  as  Walpole  had  fought  the  battles  of  the  king,  and  con- 
tended for  his  own  honor  and  su^^remacy,  he  was  determined 
manfully  to  continue  the  contest  to  the  last.  He  tried  various 
expedients  to  avert  his  doom.  He  skilfully  attempted  to  com- 
pound the  difiercnces  which  existed  between  the  king  and  Prince 
Frederic ;  but  the  prince  declared  that  he  would  enter  into  no 
terms  whatever  with  the  great  enemy  of  the  state.  He  then  en- 
deavored to  detach  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  opposite  party 
from  their  friends,  and  enlist  them  in  his  own  service.  Greater 
bribes  were  offered  them  to  retain  their  adhesion  to  their  old 
associates,  and  this  effort  also  failed.  At  length  the  great,  crafty, 
and  once  absolute  minister,  was  left  upon  a  vote  of  importance, 
in  a  decisive  and  hopeless  minority  in  the  Commons.  When  the 
adverse  vote  was  amiounced  Walpole  arose,  declared  that  he 
would  never  again  enter  that  house,  and  retired.  On  the  next 
day,  February  3d,  1742,  the  king  adjourned  parliament  till  the 
18th.  In  the  mean  time,  on  the  11th  of  the  month,  Walpole  re- 
signed his  employments  and  offices,  obtained  from  his  royal 
master  security  and  protection  for  all  the  measures  of  his  past 
administration,  was  created  Earl  of  Orford  in  return  for  his  long 
and  faithful  services,  and  retired  after  twenty  years  of  almost 
absolute  power,  to  the  repose  and  the  dignities  of  private  life  at 
his  sumptuous  seat  at  Houghton  ;  there  to  enjoy  that  happiness 
which  the  turbulent  and  uneasy  splendors  of  his  former  state 
had  never  been  able  to  bestow. 


CHAPTEE   YI. 

The  Members  of  the  New  Cabinet— The  Pension  Bill— Lord  Carteret  Prime  Minister— 
The  Seven  Tears'  War — George  II.  present  at  the  Battle  of  Dettingen — Events  of 
1745 — Battle  of  Fontenoy — Movements  of  the  Pretender  in  Scotland — His  Successor 
—His  Deffeat  at  Culloden — Success  of  British  Arms  at  Homo  and  Abroad — Treaty 
of  Als-la-Chapelle. 

The  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  Mr.  Pelham  still  remained  in  the 
cabinet.  The  Earl  of  Wilmington  succeeded  to  the  premiership. 
Mr.  Sandys  was  appointed  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  Lord 
Carteret  took  the  Seals,  and  Mr,  Pulteney  was  sworn  of  the 
Privy  Council.  The  sentiment  which  first  prevailed  throughout 
the  country  when  the  resignation  of  Robert  Walpole  became 
known,  was  one  of  general  joy.  The  bells  were  rung  and  bon- 
fires were  lighted  in  most  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  realm. 
The  bpposition  papers  teemed  with  ungenerous  insults  to  the 
fallen  statesman,  and  he  was  boldly  threatened  with  impeach- 
ment and  the  scaffold.  His  Earldom,  his  Garter,  his  Knight- 
hood of  the  Bath,  were  all  made  the  subjects  of  satire  and  invec- 
tive.*    His  daughter  by  his  second  wife,  who  was  illegitimate, 

*  The  Champion  of  February  16, 1742,  (a  more  scurrilous  paper  even  than 
the  Craftsman,)  contains  the  following  epigram,  which  may  be  taken  as  a  sam- 
ple of  effusions  to  which  the  ex-minister  was  exposed  daily  : 

"  Sir [RobeH],  his  merit  or  interest  to  shew, 

Laid  down  the  red  ribbon  to  take  up  the  blue : 

By  two  strings  already  the  knight  hath  been  ty'd, 

But  when  twisted  at [Tylurn\,  the  third  will  decide." 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  SECOND.  139 

was  given  precedency  as  an  Eai-l's  daughter  by  a  separate  patent 
from  the  king ;  and  this  step  aroused  a  furious  storm  of  indigna- 
tion around  his  ears  from  the  incensed  aristocracy,  and  the 
"  modern  quality  of  Miss  Maria  Walpolc  "  became  the  subject 
of  several  pointed  satires  and  poems.  The  young  patriots, 
whose  chief  and  confessed  leader  was  William  Pitt,  being  disap- 
pointed in  obtaining  a  place  in  the  new  cabinet,  absurdly  vented 
all  their  spleen  on  the  ex-minister. 

This  storm  gradually  subsided,  to  be  followed  by  another  of 
almost  equal  fur^^  resulting  from  the  disputes  which  divided  the 
new  ministry.  The  Pension  Bill,  the  Place  Bill,  and  a  Bill  to 
repeal  the  septennial  parliaments,  called  forth  the  antagonistic 
and  irreconcilable  sentiments  of  the  heterogeneous  multitude 
who  had  triumphed  over  the  Earl  of  Orford.  An  effort  was 
again  made  to  authorize  a  formal  investigation  into  the  measures 
of  the  last  ten  years  of  his  administration.  It  was  in  the  discus- 
sion of  this  motion  that  William  Pitt,  then  rapidly  rising  in 
favor  and  popularity  by  means  of  that  stately  and  powerful 
declamation  in  which  he  eventually  excelled  all  men — particu- 
larly distinguished  himself.  He  dwelt  with  great  effect  iipon  the 
detestable  use  which  the  recent  minister  had  made  of  the  secret 
service  money  ;  of  which  one  million  and  a  half  pounds  had 
been  expended,  as  was  asserted,  during  the  preceding  ten  years, 
in  bribing  the  members  of  the  legislature.  He  denounced  the 
defunct  administration  as  rotten  to  the  core,  and  as  tarnished 
with  the  cadaverous  hue  of  moral  corruption  and  disease.  But 
all  the  threats  of  impeachment  and  punishment  which  were  hurled 
at  the  head  of  the  ex-minister  eventually  amounted  to  nothing ; 
and  he  remained  secure  in  the  possession  of  that  political  inno- 
cence of  which  he  fearlessly  boasted  when  he  first  heard  the 
threat  uttered  in  parliament. 

In  1742  the  attention  of  the  king,  the  parliament,  and  the 
nation,  was  chiefly  engaged  by  the  stirring  events  Avhich  were 
transpiring  on  the  continent.  The  Austrian  Empress,  Maria 
Theresa,  was  contending  heroically  for  the  integrity  of  those  vast 
and  heterogeneous   possessions  which   she  had  inherited,  and 


140  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

which  had  been  guaranteed  to  her  by  the  Pragmatic  Sanction. 
Under  the  influence  of  Lord  Carteret,  George  II.  became  decided- 
ly warlilce  in  his  tastes  and  feelings.  He  even  conceived  the  de- 
sire to  distinguish  himself  as  a  great  hero  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Sixteen  thousand  regular  troops,  under  the  command  of  Lord 
Stair,  who  had  succeeded  the  Earl  of  Argyle  in  the  new  ministry, 
were  sent  over  to  Flanders  in  April,  where  they  were  joined  by 
a  large  body  of  Hanoverians  and  Hessians  in  British  pay.  These 
troops  were  destined  to  operate  in  support  of  the  Empress- 
Queen.  But  Lord  Stair  had  been  directed,  in  the  first  place,  to 
try  the  effect  of  negotiation,  to  induce  the  States  General  to  join 
the  coalition,  and  concur  in  the  projects  of  the  King  of  Great 
Britain.  These  provinces  determined  however  to  adhere  to  their 
neutrality  ;  and  thus  the  summer  glided  away  without  any  mil- 
itary operations  having  been  attempted.  The  troops  were  placed 
in  winter  quarters ;  but  during  the  ensuing  session  of  Parliament, 
the  conduct  of  the  new  ministry,  with  reference  to  the  continental 
war,  was  bitterly  and  furiously  assailed.  Nevertheless,  in  the 
fijllowing  spring  the  warlike  policy  was  resumed,  and  larger  de- 
tachments of  troops  were  sent  to  the  Low  Countries,  to  unite 
with  those  already  collected  there  under  the  command  of  the 
Earl  of  Stair.  The  first  purpose  of  this  commander  was  to  enter 
the  French  territory  on  the  side  of  the  Moselle.  Baffled  in  this 
attempt,  he  changed  his  line  of  operations  to  the  banks  of  the 
Maine.  The  Court  of  Versailles  immediately  ordered  sixty  thou- 
sand troops,  under  the  command  of  the  Marshal  de  Coigne,  to 
confront  the  foe  in  this  new  position.  In  June  the  warlike  fever 
had  so  completely  taken  possession  of  the  nature  of  George  II., 
that  he  journeyed  in  person  to  the  continent,  in  company  with 
his  son  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  and  arrived  at  the  camp  of 
Lord  Stair  at  Aschaffcnburg.  He  desired  to  see  the  operations 
of  the  great  conflict  going  forward,  and  if  possible  to  win  some 
of  the  laurels  which  were  about  to  be  distributed  among  the 
combatants.  But  the  little  king  was  soon  treated  to  more  of  the 
stern  realities  of  war  than  he  had  anticipated.  The  Marshal  de 
Noailles,  who  had  in  the  meantime  taken  the  command,  carried 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   SECOND.  141 

on  his  operations  with  such  consummate  skill  and  vigor,  that  he 
soon  placed  the  English  commander  in  a  very  critical  position. 
Lord  Stair  was  compelled  to  decamp  in  haste  from  Aschaflen- 
l)urg,  and  direct  his  march  toward  Ilanau.  There  he  expected 
to  obtain  large  reinforcements.  But  Marshal  de  Noailles  had 
anticipated  this  movement,  and  had  taken  effectual  measures  to 
intercept  it.  On  approaching  the  village  of  Dettingen,  the  Brit- 
ish commander,  who  was  accompanied  by  the  British  king,  found 
the  French  army  drawn  up  in  battle  array  to  oppose  his  further 
progress.  The  position  was  a  dangerous  one.  The  enemy  occu- 
pied the  defiles  of  Dettingen  in  front ;  on  the  left  flowed  the  deep 
and  turbulent  waters  of  the  Maine ;  and  on  the  right  were  im- 
passable forests  and  morasses.  A  retreat  even  was  impossible, 
for  the  French  commander  had  promptly  taken  possession  of 
Aschaffenburg  with  a  powerful  force,  immediately  after  it  was 
deserted  by  the  English.  A  decisive  battle  was  now  unavoidable, 
in  which  every  probability  of  defeat  and  ruin  conspired  against 
the  English.  Lord  Stair  instantly  made  very  admirable  dispo- 
sitions for  the  conflict.  The  French  charged  with  their  usual 
impetuosity.  They  were  received  by  their  foes  with  great  stead- 
iness and  intrepidity.  Yet  the  disadvantages  of  their  position, 
the  superiority  of  numbers  on  the  part  of  the  French,  and  their 
better  condition,  would  have  inevitably  secured  them  a  decisive 
and  overwhelming  triumph,  had  not  the  skilful  plans  of  the 
French  ^Lirshal  been  disarranged  and  ruined  by  the  rash  and 
inexperienced  valor  of  the  Duke  de  Grammont ;  who,  contrary 
to  express  orders,  advanced  his  troops  through  the  defiles  at  an 
unfavorable  moment,  thereby  compelling  the  whole  army  to 
sustain  an  unseasonable  movement.  During  the  conflict,  George 
II.  behaved  with  considerable  fortitude.  Had  the  French  been 
victorious,  he  would  most  probably  have  been  taken  prisoner. 
But  a  propitious  accident  saved  his  army  from  defeat,  his  person 
from  captivity,  his  reputation  from  disgrace,  and  thousands  of 
brave  men,  who  would  have  had  no  possible  means  of  retreat, 
from  certain  death.  The  French  lost  six  thousand  killed  and 
wounded.     After  the  battle,  George  proceeded  to  Hanau,  where 


142  HISTORY   OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 

he  received  the  expected  reinforcements.  No  further  operations 
of  importance  afterward  occurred  during  the  summer ;  and  hav- 
ing passed  the  Rhine  at  Maintz,  Lord  Stair  fixed  his  head- 
quarters at  Worms  for  the  ensuing  winter.  The  king,  having 
had  enough  of  the  realities  and  splendors  of  war,  returned  im- 
mediately after  the  termination  of  the  campaign,  to  his  British 
dominions,  to  congratulate  himself  upon  the  laurels  which  he  had 
won,  and  still  more  heartily  and  justly  on  the  destruction  or 
captivity  which  he  had  escaped. 

In  the  spring  of  1745,  hostilities  were  resumed  on  the  conti- 
nent between  France  and  the  Allies.  The  commander  of  the 
French  troops  was  the  celebrated  Marshal  Saxe,  a  hero  of  great 
military  abilities.  He  was  the  son  of  Augustus,  King  of  Poland 
and  Saxony,  and  that  accomplished  and  beautiful  Aurora,  Count- 
ess of  Koenigsmark,  to  whom  reference  has  been  made  in  a  pre- 
ceding page  of  this  work.  The  Marshal  inherited  the  remarkable 
beauty  of  his  uncle,  the  unfortunate  lover  of  Sophia  Dorothea 
of  Zell ;  the  fascinating  manners  and  the  superior  intellect  of 
his  mother  ;  and  the  vast  bodily  size  and  strength  of  his 
royal  and  voluptuous  father.  His  whole  life  had  been  one  of 
adventure,  luxury,  and  vicissitude.  He  was  one  of  the  last  and 
most  eminent  representatives  of  that  class  termed  soldiers  of  for- 
tune ;  who,  in  preceding  ages,  hired  their  swords  to  the  most  lavish 
or  opulent  bidders,  and  became  celebrated  for  martial  deeds  in  the 
results  of  which  they  did  not  feel  a  particle  of  personal  interest. 
At  this  period  the  military  fame  of  the  gallant  Marshal  stood  very 
high ;  but  the  campaign  which  now  ensued  was  destined  to  ele- 
vate it  to  the  summit  of  glory.  The  Allies,  commanded  by  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  by  Marshal  Konigseg,  and  by  the  Prince 
of  Waldeck,  marched  to  the  relief  of  the  city  of  Tourney,  which 
the  French  under  Saxe  had  invested.  The  combatants  met  near 
the  village  of  Fontenoy,  to  which  the  prodigious  scenes  of  car- 
nage which  ensued  in  its  vicinity  has  given  an  enduring  and  mel- 
ancholy celebrity.  During  the  early  stages  of  the  battle  the 
Allies,  especially  the  English  and  Hanoverian  infantry,  drove 
the  French  repeatedly  beyond  their  lines,  and  the  victory  seemed 


LIFE   ANTt   EEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   SECOND.  143 

to  be  secure.  Their  artillery  had  been  posted  with  such  skill  by- 
Marshal  Konigseg,  the  commander  of  the  Austrian  contingent, 
that  immense  numbers  of  the  French  were  slain.  The  position 
of  Saxe  was  becoming  critical.  He  was  ill  at  the  time,  and  was 
conveyed  from  post  to  post  in  a  litter.  But  this  hero's  fortitude 
and  presence  of  mind  never  deserted  him,  even  in  the  most  im- 
minent dangers,  or  amid  the  darkest  gloom.  The  centre  of  the 
French  having  been  broken,  the  Allied  column  of  attack  should 
have  been  divided.  But  advancing  in  a  solid  mass  into  the  heart 
of  the  French  lines,  its  isolated  position  rendered  it  at  once  an 
object  of  assault  to  the  whole  French  army.  Saxe  instantly  took 
advantage  of  this  error,  and  ordered  up  all  his  corps  de  reserve. 
A  circle  of  fire  from  the  redoubts  which  they  had  already  passed, 
and  from  other  powerful  batteries  ranged  on  their  flank,  was 
skilfully  drawn  around  the  hapless  column,  which  then  melted 
like  frost-work  before  it.  Total  destruction  now  impended  over 
it ;  rapid  retreat  became  inevitable ;  nor  was  this  effected  until 
the  Allies  lost  ten  thousand  men,  killed  and  wounded  on  the 
field  of  carnage  and  conflict.  The  victory  of  the  French  was 
complete,  and  its  consequences  were  important.  Tournay  sur- 
rendered, Ghent  and  Bruges  were  captured  by  a  coup-de-main, 
Ostend,  Dendermond,  and  Newport  successively  capitulated  to 
the  conquerors. 

The  British  nation  now  fell  into  one  of  their  fits  of  spleen  and 
spite  in  consequence  of  these  disasters  ;  but  misfortunes  and 
perils  nearer  at  home  were  soon  about  to  ensue.  The  French 
monarch  observing  that  all  the  British  forces  were  engaged  upon 
the  continent,  regarded  the  opportunity  as  flivorable  to  the  promo- 
tion of  the  interests  of  the  Pretender.  Prince  Charles,  the  son  of 
the  "  Chevalier  de  St.  George,"  being  equipped  by  Louis  XV.  and 
incited  by  him,  landed  in  the  "Western  Islands  of  Scotland,  in  Au- 
gust. The  movement  was  propitious  to  his  interests  in  many  ways. 
George  II.  was  then  absent  in  Hanover.  His  British  dominions 
were  almost  destitute  of  troops.  The  ablest  military  command- 
ers were  engaged  in  the  absorbing  events  transpiring  in  the 
Low  Countries.     The  Scotch  were  in  a  great  measure  partial  to 


144  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOIIK   GEOEGES. 

the  cause  of  the  Pretender ;  and  the  English  were  exceedingly 
disaffected  toward  their  own  government.  As  soon  as  the  news 
of  the  arrival  of  Prince  George  reached  London,  a  messenger  was 
despatched  to  the  continent  entreating  the  monarch  to  return  to 
his  capital.  Several  British  regiments  were  recalled  from  the 
Netherlands.  Six  thousand  troops  were  demanded  from  the 
Dutch,  who  were  bound  to  furnish  them  by  the  requirements  of 
an  existing  treaty.  The  Lieutenants  throughout  the  kingdom 
were  ordered  by  the  Lords  of  the  Regency  to  muster  the  militia 
in  their  respective  counties,  and  commissions  were  issued  to 
raise  new  regiments.  Divided  and  dissatisfied  as  the  nation 
had  been,  the  greatness  of  the  impending  danger  at  once 
united  them,  and  all  parties  except  the  Jacobite  alone  engaged 
heartily  in  energetic  preparations  for  defence. 

In  a  short  time  Sir  John  Cope,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
forces  in  North  Britain,  advanced  to  Inverness  at  the  head  of  such 
troops  as  could  be  hastily  summoned.  The  Pretender  liad  al- 
ready reached  Edinburgh,  had  entered  it  in  triumph,  had  caused 
his  father  to  be  proclaimed  king,  and  himself  regent,  of  Great 
Britain  ;  and  had  fixed  his  head-quarters  in  the  ancient  abode  of 
his  ancestors,  the  venerable  palace  of  Holyrood.  On  the  20th  of 
September,  Sir  John  Cope  encamped  at  Prestonpans,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Scotch  capital,  in  command  of  three  thousand  reg- 
ular troops.  •  He  was  attacked  in  his  position  on  the  ensuing 
day,  by  the  Pretender,  at  the  head  of  an  equal  number  of  High- 
landers. Nothing  in  modern  warfere  equalled  in  ferocity  and 
fury  the  onslaught  made  on  this  occasion  by  the  rude  and  fierce 
sons  of  the  Caledonian  hills,  upon  the  lines  of  the  royal  troops. 
The  shock  of  battle  was  prodigious.  The  Scotch  hewed  do'wn 
their  foes  with  their  broadswords  and  Lochaber  axes  as  if  they 
had  been  so  many  cattle.  The  field  of  conflict  was  deluged  with 
blood,  the  royal  army  was  totally  routed  in  ten  minutes,  and  the 
Pretender  at  once  found  himself  master  of  the  whole  of  Scotland. 
He  now  received  large  supplies  from  France,  and  was  joined  by 
Lords  Kilmarnock,  Cromarty,  Balmcrino,  Lovat,  and  the  Earl 
of   Derwentwater.      After  his   first    triumph,   the    Pretender 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   SECOND.  145 

marched  with  an  increasing  army  southward.  The  city  of  Car- 
lisle surrendered  to  hiai  in  November.  At  Manchester  he  was 
welcomed  with  general  demonstrations  of  joy.  He  advanced  as 
far  as  Derby.  By  this  time  the  panic  which  pervaded  the  nation 
was  intense  and  universal.  Had  the  Pretender  then  continued 
his  progress  to  London,  it  is  highly  probable  that  his  descendants 
would,  even  at  this  moment,  be  seated  upon  the  British  throne. 
The  fall  of  Rome,  after  the  overwhelming  carnage  of  CamiEe,  was 
not  more  certain,  had  Hannibal  hastened  directly  thither  and 
thundered  before  her  gates,  than  was  the  submission  of  the  Brit- 
ish capital  to  the  representative  of  the  Stuarts,  had  he  at  that 
crisis  summoned  her  to  surrender.  But  as  Hannibal  unaccount>- 
ably  failed  in  the  decisive  moment  of  his  destiny,  so  also  did  the 
aspiring  rebel  chief  on  this  occasion.  Being  informed  that  Lord 
Stair  had  been  appointed  to  the  supreme  command  of  the  royal 
troops,  and  that  he  was  advancing  against  him,  he  began,  on  the 
6th  of  December,  to  retreat  northward.  On  the  21st  of  the 
month,  Carlisle  was  invested  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who 
had  been  appointed  commander  of  a  portion  of  the  royal  troops. 
At  Falkirk,  the  Pretender  gained  another  victory  over  his  ene- 
mies, led  on  by  General  Hawley.  _^He  then  retired  to  Glasgow 
and  invested  the  castle  of  Stirling.  But  a  great  and  decisive 
battle  could  alone  determine  the  controversy  which  seemed  to  be 
involved  in  such  ultimate  uncertainty.  In  April,  1740,  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland,  having  been  made  generalissimo  of  the  royal 
forces,  met  the  Pretending  Prince  on  the  flimous  field  of  Cul- 
lodcn.  The  heroic  Highlanders  had  lost  none  of  their  military 
ardor,  but  their  foes  had  by  this  time  become  familiar  with  their 
method  of  fighting,  and  had  been  taught  how  to  resist  it.  The  en- 
gagement began  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  Highland- 
ers, who  had  been  drawn  up  in  thirteen  divisions  upon  a  favor- 
able eminence,  rushed  down  upon  their  approaching  foes  with 
prodigious  fierceness.  But  they  were  steadily  received  on  fixed 
bayonets ;  a  continual  firing  by  platoons  was  kept  up  upon  them ; 
the  weapons  of  the  Scotch  could  produce  but  little  effect  upon  the 
solid  barrier  of  steel  which  confronted  them  ;  their  ranks  rapidly 
7 


146  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOKGES. 

thinned ;  the  survivors  gradually  iDecame  exhausted  ;  terror  took 
the  place  of  heroism  ;  their  tumultuous  masses  were  thrown  into 
confusion ;  the  royal  cavalry  and  artillery  were  then  brought  to 
bear  upon  them  with  destructive  effect ;  a  retreat  became  inevitable 
in  less  than  an  hour ;  and  a  dearly  bought  victory  was  at  last 
attained  by  the  steadiness  and  valor  of  the  royal  troops.  The 
rout  was  complete,  and  more  bloody  than  complete.  No  quarter 
was  given.  A  savage  thirst  for  revenge  actuated  the  conquerors ; 
and  the  most  cruel  barbarities  were  inflicted  even  upon  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  discomfited  rebels  long  after  hostilities  had  termin- 
ated. 

The  cause  of  the  Pretender  was  utterly  ruined.  He  fled  from 
the  kingdom,  and  only  reached  France  after  passing  through  a 
series  of  imminent  perils  and  romantic  vicissitudes  such  as  were 
paralleled  by  no  other  scenes  in  the  history  of  princes,  except 
those  experienced  by  Charles  II.  after  the  battle  of  Worcester. 
Hundreds  of  the  rebels  were  executed,  including  many  distin- 
guished noblemen.  To  all  intercessions  in  their  behalf,  the  in- 
censed and  inexorable  monarch  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and  an  unre- 
lenting heart.  The  victory  was  indeed  great,  and  the  delivery 
from  national  commotion  ai^d  civil  war  most  fortunate.  Par- 
liament presented  an  address  of  congratulation  to  George  II.  with 
which  he  doubtless  sympathized  more  heartily  than  he  had  ever 
done  before  on  any  similar  occasion ;  and  the  triumphant  hero 
of  the  day,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  received  an  addition  of 
twenty-five  thousand  pounds  per  annum  to  his  revenue,  a  vote  of 
thanks  from  parliament,  and  the  hearty  praise  and  adulation  of 
the  nation. 

During  the  year  1746,  the  popularity  of  the  court  and  the  su- 
premacy of  the  ministry  in  parliament  again  returned,  in  conse- 
quence of  these  domestic  victories,  and  the  brighter  aspect  of 
aflairs  on  the  continent  on  behalf  of  the  Allies.  Changes  also 
occurred  in  the  Cabinet ;  but  they  produced  little  effect  on  the 
policy  pursued  by  the  government,  either  domestic  or  foreign. 
Lord  Carteret,  now  created  Earl  of  Granville,  still  retained  a 
paramount  influence  over  the  mind  of  George  II.,  and  was  made 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   SECOND.  147 

President  of  the  Council.  This  office  he  retained  for  many 
years.  During  1747,  the  ministry  constantly  commanded  a  de- 
cisive majority  in  both  houses  of  parliament ;  and  the  opposition 
languished  so  greatly  that  it  could  scarcely  be  said  to  exist.  At 
this  period  the  military  operations  in  the  Netherlands  termin- 
ated ;  and  a  treaty  was  eventually  signed  between  the  Plenipo- 
tentiaries of  the  French  monarch  and  those  of  the  Allies  at  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  the  terms  of  which  were  decidedly  favorable  to  the 
latter.  Thus  at  length  security  and  peace,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  became  again  the  portion  of  the  British  people ;  who  had 
become  heartily  wearied  of  the  expenses,  the  anxieties,  and  the 
vicissitudes  inevitably  attendant  upon  domestic  strife  and  for- 
eign levy,  and  earnestly  desired  to  be  relieved  from  their  per- 
nicious effects. 


CHAPTER   YII. 


Death  of  Frederic,  Prince  of  "Wales — Peculiar  Conduct  of  the  King  on  the  Occasion — 
Decline  of  the  opposition  in  Parliament — Increasing  Eminence  of  William  Pitt — 
Character  of  his  Eloquence  —  Mr.  Murray — Henry  Fox — Acts  of  Parliament — 
Death  of  Henry  Pelham — Duke  of  Newcastle  Prime  Minister — War  between  the 
English  and  French  Colonies  in  North  America — The  King's  Address  to  Parliament 
in  November,  1755 — Furious  Debates  which  Ensued — War  with  France — Cowardice 
of  Admiral  Byng — The  Disappointment  and  Kago  of  the  Nation — The  Trial,  Con- 
Tiction,  and  Execution  of  the  Admiral. 


The  commencement  of  the  year  1751  was  rendered  remarkable 
by  a  domestic  event  of  great  importance  to  the  royal  family, 
and  to  the  nation.  On  the  20th  of  March,  Frederic,  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  heir  apparent,  died  after  a  short  illness.  He  had 
been  previously  attacked  with  pleurisy,  had  partially  recovered, 
and  had  again  been  injured  by  a  fall  from  his  horse.  Early  in 
March  he  was  present  in  Parliament.  The  house  was  crowded, 
and  the  heat  intense.  In  returning  late  at  night  to  Carlton 
House,  he  rode  with  the  windows  of  his  carriage  open.  He 
then  changed  his  dress,  and  reposed  for  several  hours  upon  a  bed 
in  a  cold  and  damp  apartment.  He  became  seriously  ill,  and 
the  next  day  his  life  was  in  danger.  He  immediately  sent  for 
his  eldest  son,  afterward  George  III.,  and  bade  him  farewell. 
His  medical  attendants,  Doctors  Wilmot  and  Hawkins  still  con- 
tinued to  indulge  hopes  of  his  recovery.  But  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  they  were  uttering  words  of  encouragement,  the 
Prince,  placing  his  hands  upon  his  stomach,  exclaimed  :  Je  sens 
la  mort,  ajid  commenced  to  sink.  Ilis  cough  returned  with  in- 
creased violence.  His  body  shivered  convulsively  from  head  to 
foot.     Bv  this  time  his  wife  and  some  of  his  children  had  reached 


LITE   Ami  EEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE   SECOND.  14:9 

his  bedside  ;  sympathy  and  medical  treatment  were  of  no  avail. 
The  prince  was  held  up  in  his  bed  by  Desneyer,  his  favorite  and 
athletic  dancing-master.  After  a  few  minutes  of  convulsive 
agony,  the  heir  of  the  British  Empire  expired  in  the  arms  of  a 
French  fiddler.  The  king  had  heard  of  the  sudden  illness  of  his 
son;  but  with  his  usual  indifference  and  cruelty,  he  had  taken 
no  notice  of  the  event.  As  soon  as  the  Prince  had  ceased  to 
exist,  Lord  North  conveyed  the  sad  intelligence  to  the  be- 
reaved father.  The  latter  was,  at  that  moment,  at  Kensington, 
and  was  looking  over  a  card  table  at  which  the  Princess  Amelia, 
the  Duchess  of  Dorset,  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  and  Lady  Wal- 
moden  were  playing.  In  answer  to  the  information  conveyed  by 
Lord  North  the  king  merely  replied  :  "  Dead,  is  he  ?  "  Then 
going  round  to  Walmoden,  he  observed  to  her  in  an  indifferent 
tone  :  "  Countess,  Fred  is  gone ! "  and  then  the  game  proceeded. 
The  funeral  of  the  defunct  Prince  was  simple  and  unostentatious 
in  the  extreme.  Not  a  single  bishop  was  present.  The  reason 
of  the  neglect  was,  that  these  sanctimonious  courtiers  were  ap- 
prehensive of  injuring  their  interests  with  the  sui'viving  monarch, 
who  was  known  to  have  been  at  enmity  with  his  son.  Their 
presence  at  the  obsequies  of  the  heir  apparent,  though  a  custom 
and  a  duty  enjoined  by  immemorial  usage,  would  have  endan- 
gered certain  mitres,  fat  benefices,  and  august  promotions  to  still 
more  opulent  and  powerful  sees,  which  loomed  invitingly  in  the 
future  before  their  unambitious  and  unworldly  eyes.  The  same 
fear  of  displeasing  the  court  and  king  kept  all  the  temporal  lords 
and  peers  away,  with  the  exception  of  a  solitary  Irish  nobleman. 
The  Earl  of  Limerick  alone  honored  with  his  presence  the  last 
mournful  journey  of  his  unfortunate  friend.  Neither  canopy,  nor 
funeral  service,  nor  anthem,  nor  priest,  nor  organ,  were  per- 
mitted to  impart  a  seemly  dignity  and  solemnity  to  the  exit  of 
the  inheritor  of  such  proud  hopes,  and  so  exalted  a  destiny  ;  who 
in  truth  scarcely  deserved  a  better  fate.  The  widow  of  the 
Prince,  Augusta,  was  at  that  time  the  mother  of  eight  children. 
She  behaved  on  this  mournful  occasion  with  great  propriety ; 
and  among  other  things  displayed  her  usual  discernment  and 


150  niSTOET  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 

prudence  by  burning  all  her  husband's  private  papers.  The 
sensation  produced  by  the  death  of  the  Prince  throughout  the 
nation  was  not  intense.  His  character  had  not  commanded 
their  confidence  and  esteem,  and  his  demise  was  probably  regard- 
ed by  the  majority  of  them  as  a  public  blessing.* 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  his 
Koyal  Highness,  his  eldest  son,  was  committed  to  the  Earl  of 
Harcourt  as  governor,  and  the  Bishop  of  Norwich  as  preceptor. 
It  was  at  this  period  that  the  Eai-1  of  Bute  began  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  the  Princess  of  Wales,  the  mother  of  the  heir  ap- 
parent. She  then  resided  at  Leicester  palace,  and  Bute  was  a 
member  of  her  household.  His  handsome  person,  his  agree- 
able manners,  his  graceful  deportment,  his  high  birth,  his 
prudent  and  crafty  nature,  all  adapted  him  to  the  attainment 
of  great  influence  over  the  vacant  heart  of  the  widowed  but 
worldly,  aspiring,  and  sensual  Augusta.  Tlie  ambitious  plot 
which  was  contrived  between  these  lovers  amounted  to  nothing 
less  than  a  determination  to  rule  the  nation  through  the  young 
Prince  of  Wales,  after  he  should  have  attained  the  throne.  They 
commenced  by  placing  such  books  in  the  hands  of  the  prince, 
as  inculcated  political  doctrines,  little  in  harmony  with  British 
ideas  of  liberty  and  constitutional  monarchy.  The  preceptors 
of  the  Prince  soon  detected  this  intrigue,  and  they  informed  the 
House  of  Peers  that  they  no  longer  possessed  any  authority 

*  The  following  elegant  epitaph  was  written  for  him  by  the  Jacobite  press  : 

"  Here  lies  Prince  Fred, 
Who  was  alive  and  is  dead. 
Had  it  been  his  father, 
We  had  much  rather ; 
Had  it  been  his  brother, 
Still  better  than  another. 
Had  it  been  his  sister 
No  one  would  have  missed  her. 
Had  it  been  the  whole  generation, 
Still  better  for  the  nation. 
But  since  'tis  only  Fred, 
Who  was  alive  and  is  dead, 
There  is  no  more  to  be  said." 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   SECOND.  151 

over  his  education,  in  consequence  of  sinister  influences  which 
were  brought  to  bear  upon  his  mind ;  and  they  resigned  their 
offices.  Lord  Waldegrave  and  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  were  ap- 
pointed in  their  places  ;  but  the  same  secret  bias  remained, 
though  its  operation  was  rendered  more  subtle  and  concealed. 

After  the  death  of  Prince  Frederic,  the  opposition  to  the 
court  which  he  had  headed  in  Parliament,  may  be  said  to  have 
expired.  All  the  men  distinguished  for  talent  and  eloquence  in 
the  Legislature,  were  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  government. 
Three  mighty  and  turbulent  spirits  had  been  laid  to  rest,  for  the 
time  being,  by  the  potent  spell  of  official  rank,  influence,  and 
emolument.  These  were  William  Pitt,  afterward  Earl  of 
Chatham,  Murray,  afterward  Lord  Mansfield,  and  Fox,  after- 
ward Lord  Holland.  Pitt  occupied  the  post  of  Paymaster  of 
the  Forces ;  Murray  was  appointed  Solicitor-General ;  Fox 
held  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War.  Never  were  three  more 
remarkable  and  gifted  men  combined  together  in  the  support 
of  any  government. 

William  Pitt  was  still  comparatively  young,  and  in  the  pride 
and  splendor  of  his  manhood.  lie  was  already  the  most  popu- 
lar man  in  the  nation.  He  had  gained  the  hearts  of  his  money- 
loving  countrymen,  by  the  disinterested  honesty  with  which  he 
had  refused  to  pocket  several  hundred  thousand  pounds  which  he 
might  have  claimed  on  the  ground  of  custom,  as  per  centage  upon 
the  moneys  which  passed  through  his  hands  as  Paymaster  of 
the  Forces.  The  British  people  looked  upon  him  as  a  rare  and 
unequalled  specimen  of  an  incorruptible  and  disinterested  states- 
man. In  addition  to  this  great  moral  influence  of  which  he  was 
the  possessor,  he  exhibited  other  commanding  and  attractive 
qualities,  which  were  equally  valuable.  His  eloquence  was 
characterized  by  such  force  and  splendor  of  diction,  by  such 
clearness  and  directness  of  argument,  by  such  prodigious  power 
of  invective  and  repartee,  as  overwhelmed  his  hearers  with  ad- 
miration and  astonishment.  He  was  the  ablest  supporter,  and 
the  most  destructive  assailant,  who  figured  in  the  house.  He 
may  be  said  to  have  annihilated  whomsoever  he  elevated  to  the 


152  inSTOET   OF   THE  FOUK   GEOEGES. 

dignity  of  an  opponent.  His  bursts  of  eloquence  were  not  un- 
fitly compared  to  the  lightning  which  flashed  from  heaven, 
blasting  whatever  it  smote,  and  witliering  the  crushed  form  of 
every  antagonist.  During  a  memorable  period  of  thirty  years 
he  continued  to  reign  the  Jupiter  Tonans  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  he  is  deservedly  regarded  as  the  most  important, 
imposing,  and  magnificent  historical  personage,  whom  the  Eng- 
lish people  have  ever  produced,  during  many  generations  of  na- 
tional existence.* 

Murray,  afterward  the  Cliief  Justice,  was  a  person  of  very 
different  stamp.  He  was  inferior  to  Pitt  in  all  the  shining 
qualities  of  a  great  statesman,  and  in  all  the  brilliant  attributes 
of  a  popular  orator.  His  parliamentary  eloquence  was  clear, 
placid,  impressive,  and  convincing.  His  nature  was  not  impul- 
sive nor  inflammable ;  neither  w'ere  his  measures  nor  his  elo- 
quence. He  was  cautious,  calculating,  and  prudent.  But  his  in- 
tellectual grasp  was  vast,  comprehensive,  and  profound.  As  a 
whole,  the  greatness  of  his  mind  was  not  inferior  to  that  of 
Pitt's.  He  successively  filled  the  posts  of  Solicitor-General, 
Attorney-General,  and  Chief  Justice  of  England ;  and  in  all 
three  offices  he  achieved  a  legal  fame  unsurpassed  in  British  his- 
tory ;  for  Lord  Mansfield  stands  at  the  very  head  of  the  illus- 
trious array  of  jurists  and  lawyers  of  the  land  of  Coke  and 
Eldon. 

The  third  most  remarkable  person  connected  with  the  tran- 
quil administration  of  Henry  Pelham,  who  now  served  the  king 
and  the  nation  without  encountering  the  difficulties  and  dangers  ot 
an  organized  opposition  in  Pai'liament,  was  Mr.  Fox.  His  elo- 
quence and  his  abilities  occupy  a  middle  position  between  those 
of  his  two  chief  associates.  He  was  in  every  respect  less  bril- 
liant than  solid.     He  possessed  none  of  the  outward  advantages 

*  Pitt's  celebrated  retort  upon  Horace  Walpolc,  who  had  charged  him  with 
being  a  young  man,  and  therefore  ignorant  and  inexperienced,  is  a  memorable 
instance  of  the  power  of  reply  and  invective  which  he  possessed,  and  frequently 
exhibited.  See  Belsham's  Memoirs  of  the  Ki7igs  of  Great  Britain,  Vol.  IL,p. 
127.  History  of  the  Bt.  Hon.  William  Fitt,  do. ;  by  Bev.  F.  Thackeray.  Loi\r 
don,  1827,  2  vols.  4.to. 


LIFE   AJSTD   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   SECOND.  153 

which  the  others  exhibited.  His  figure  was  heavy  and  awkward  ; 
his  countenance  was  coarse  and  unintellectual.  His  delivery- 
was  hesitating  and  embarrassed;  and  his  gestures  devoid  of 
grace  or  appropriateness.  But  as  a  declamatory  logician,  he  ex- 
celled every  man  whose  voice  had  ever  been  heard  in  the  British 
Parliament.  No  orator  of  modern  times  surpassed  the  ability 
with  which  he  took  hold  of  the  positions  and  the  arguments  of 
his  opponents,  and  sifted  their  weakness,  absurdities,  falsehoods, 
and  errors.  Even  the  very  homeliness  of  his  language  often 
operated  prodigiously  in  his  favor  ;  while  the  logical  power  with 
which  he  scoured  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  debatable  land, 
astonished,  terrified,  and  crushed  his  opponents. 

With  such  an  array  of  various  talent  in  support  of  the  ad- 
ministration, it  is  not  singular  that  some  years  of  pacific  govern- 
ment ensued  under  the  crafty  and  supple  guidance  of  Henry 
Pelham ;  a  man  every  way.  adapted  to  preside  prudently  and 
warily  over  the  movements  of  so  many  powerful  and  impetuous 
subordinates.  During  this  period  the  foreign  relations  of  Britain 
were  friendly,  and  the  acts  passed  by  Parliament  were  all  of  a 
domestic,  internal,  and  local  character.  A  company  was  incor- 
porated to  promote  and  encourage  British  Fisheries  ;  another  to 
reform  the  Gregorian  calendar  for  the  computation  of  time ; 
and  a  third,  for  permitting  the  naturalization  of  Jews  who  had 
been  born  out  of  the  realm.  The  last  was  subsequently  re- 
pealed ;  it  being  absurdly  contended  that  the  adoption  of  "  va- 
grant Jews  "  as  British  citizens  would  endanger  the  constitution 
in  church  and  State,  and  would  be  a  disgrace  to  a  Christian  na- 
tion !  The  repeal  of  this  law  was  the  last  event  which  occurred 
during  the  administration  of  Henry  Pelham.  He  expired  sud- 
denly, unexpectedly,  and  prematurely  in  March,  1754 ;  thereby 
throwing  the  whole  machinery  of  government  into  a  temporary 
confusion. 

When  George  II.  was  informed  of  the  death  of  the  minister, 
he  exclaimed  :  "  Now  I  shall  have  no  more  peace ; "  and  though 
the  prophet,  in  this  instance,  was  neither  a  good  nor  a  wise  man, 
the  prophecy  proved  in  a  great  measure  to  be  a  true  one.    Much 

I 


154  HISTOET   OF  THE  FOTJE   GEOEGES. 

difficulty  was  experienced  in  obtaining  a  suitable  successor,  who 
was  in  every  essential  respect  adapted  to  that  high  and  difficult 
place.  In  a  few  days  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  was  selected  to 
fill  the  vacant  office  ;  but  with  his  selection,  the  embarrassments 
of  the  court  were  increased  instead  of  diminished,  ir.  consequence 
of  the  impracticable  and  all-absorbing  ambition  of  the  Duke. 
He  would  allow  no  man  of  commanding  ability  to  share  the 
government  with  him ;  and  yet  unassisted,  he  was  utterly  unable 
to  stand.  A  compromise  was  at  last  effected  with  Mr.  Fox,  who 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  yet  without  the  powers  which 
usually  belonged  to  that  office — without  the  control  of  the  secret 
service  money  ;  and  without  being  informed  what  use  was  to  be 
made  of  that  detestable  fund  by  those  who  actually  controlled 
it.  Thus  hampered,  it  was  impossible  for  even  Mr.  Fox  to  dis- 
charge his  duties  so  as  to  secure  the  permanency  of  the  admin- 
istration ;  and  after  a  few  days  of  imbecile  and  mortifying  effort 
he  resigned. 

Pitt  was  too  bold  and  dangerous  an  ally  to  be  placed  by 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle  in  a  position  of  great  prominence  in 
the  cabinet,  for  in  that  case  the  latter  well  knew  he  would  soon 
himself  become  a  cypher.  Pitt  was  therefore  cautiously  passed 
by.  At  length  Mr.  Legge  was  made  Chancellor  of  the  Excheq- 
uer, and  the  seals  were  consigned  to  Sir  Thomas  Robinson, 
together  with  the  lead  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Sir  Thomas 
was  utterly  unfit  for  this  difficult  post.  He  had  formerly  been  am- 
bassador to  Vienna,  and  had  proved  himself  scarcely  competent 
even  for  that  office.  When  Pitt,  therefore,  heard  of  his  appoint- 
ment, he  exclaimed  in  astonishment :  "  Sir  Thomas  Robinson  lead 
us  !  Newcastle  might  as  well  send  his  boot-jack  to  lead  us."  A 
short  time  only  was  necessary  to  prove  the  total  incapacity  of 
this  cabinet.  In  addition  to  the  management  of  the  domestic 
legislation  of  the  nation,  its  foreign  relations,  which  were  daily 
becoming  more  complicated  and  perplexed,  engrossed  their  atten- 
tion and  confounded  their  abilities.  The  first  difficulty  arose 
between  the  French  and  English  Colonies  in  North  America. 
The  limits  of  the  territory  of  Nova  Scotia,  which  had  been  ceded 


LIFE  AKD  EEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  SECOND.  155 

to  England,  became  the  subject  of  dispute.  France  was  erecting 
a  long  chain  of  forts  on  the  Mississippi,  to  connect  together  her 
possessions  in  Canada  and  Louisiana.  The  British  cabinet  gave 
orders  to  the  governors  of  the  American  provinces,  to  repel 
force  by  force,  and  to  dislodge  the  French  from  their  settlements 
and  fortresses  on  the  Ohio.  In  March,  1755,  the  king  informed 
Parliament  that  the  existing  state  of  affairs  made  it  necessary  to 
augment  the  national  forces  by  land  and  sea,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  increasing  difficulties  and  exigencies  in  America. 
A  million  pounds  were  voted  by  the  House  in  accordance  with 
the  demands  of  the  monarch,  in  consequence  of  the  fact,  that  at 
that  moment  information  reached  England,  that  a  powerful 
French  armament  was  preparing  in  the  ports  of  Ilochefort  and 
Brest,  destined  to  operate  in  America.  Admiral  Boscawen  was 
immediately  dispatched  with  a  numerous  squadron  to  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland,  to  intercept  the  entrance  of  the  French  fleet 
into  the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 

The  French  monarch  at  this  crisis  recalled  M.  Miressoix,  his 
minister  at  the  court  of  London.  Letters  of  general  reprisal 
were  then  issued  by  the  English  government.  In  April,  1755, 
General  Braddock  sailed  from  Cork  with  a  large  body  of  regu- 
lar troops  for  the  purpose  of  operating  against  the  French  on 
the  Ohio.  His  rash  and  unfortunate  career  was  terminated  by 
the  memorable  and  disastrous  defeat  at  Fort  Du  Quesne  ;  where 
for  the  first  time  British  troops  learned  to  appreciate  the  nature 
of  conflicts  with  the  savage  aborigines,  amid  the  primeval  forests 
and  pathless  solitudes  of  the  then  uninhabited  and  unfrequented 
wilds.  General  Braddock  was  among  the  slain,  and  the  com- 
mand devolved  upon  General  Shirley.  The  French,  under 
Montcalm  took  Oswego,  on  Lake  Ontario.  The  same  fate  subse- 
quently befell  fort  William  Henry  ;  and  by  these  successes  the 
French  acquired  the  entire  command  of  the  great  chain  of  lakes 
which  connect  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1755,  George  II.  informed  Parliament  in  a  speech  from  the 
throne,  that  he  had  done  his  utmost  to  carry  on  hostilities 
against  France  effectually  j  but  that  the  result  had  not  yet  been 


156  niSTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOKGES. 

commensurate  with  his  wishes.  He  concluded  by  asking  for 
further  aj)propriations  for  the  continuance  of  the  war,  and  for  the 
preservation  and  security  of  his  Hanoverian  dominions,  which 
were  then  threatened  by  the  French  monarch  with  invasion. 

The  passage  of  the  address  of  Parliament  in  answer  to  the 
royal  speech,  called  forth  the  most  \dolent  and  lengthy  debate 
which  had  ever  occurred  in  the  House  within  the  memory  of  that 
generation.  Very  great  offence  was  taken  by  many  leading 
statesmen  at  the  proposition  which  was  made,  to  engage  England 
and  bind  her  to  the  defense  of  the  king's  Hanoverian  domhiions. 
It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Gerard  Hamilton  delivered  that 
celebrated  speech,  whose  extraordinary  eloquence  astonished  and 
transported  the  House ;  which  eclipsed  every  other  orator  who 
took  part  in  the  debate ;  and  which  has  rendered  his  memory 
immortal  by  affixing  upon  its  author,  who  never  delivered  an- 
other, the  epithet  of  "  Single  Speech  Hamilton."  Pitt  spoke 
an  hour  and  a  half  against  the  subsidies,  with  immense  energy 
and  effect.  Although  he  still  retained  the  office  of  Paymaster 
of  the  Forces,  he  did  not  in  the  least  degree  moderate  his  oppo- 
sition on  that  account.  He  declared,  in  tones  of  thunder,  that  the 
protection  of  Hanover  would  in  a  few  years  cost  England  more 
money  than  the  fee  simple  of  the  electorate  was  worth,  whose 
extent  was  so  insignificant  that  even  its  name  could  scarcely  be 
found  upon  the  map  ;  and  he  concluded  with  wishing  for  the  day 
when  those  fetters  would  be  broken  which  bound  England,  like 
Prometheus,  to  that  barren  and  pernicious  rock.  This  deadly 
thrust  against  the  honor  of  his  favorite  province,  George  II.  never 
forgave.  He  instantly  dismissed  Pitt,  and  his  friend  Legge,  from 
their  offices.  Sir  Thomas  Robinson  soon  afterward  resigned. 
Fox  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War,  and  he  exerted  his  utmost 
abilities  to  serve  the  imbecile  king  and  government.  The  address 
of  the  Parliament  was  finally  passed,  the  amendment  moved 
by  the  opposition  having  been  rejected  by  a  large  majority. 

The  chief  event  which  now  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Eng- 
lish government  and  people,  was  the  war  with  France.  A  for- 
midable fleet  was  equipped  at  Toulon  for  the  purpose  of  making 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   SECOND.  157 

a  descent  on  the  island  of  Minorca.  To  resist  this  movement, 
a  squadron,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Byng,  was  ordered 
to  sail  from  Spithead  in  April,  1756.  On  approaching  Minorca, 
Byng  discovered  the  British  colors  still  floating  from  the  for- 
tress of  St.  Philip ;  thereby  being  assured  that  the  French  had 
not  yet  attempted  or  accomplished  their  purpose.  Their  ships 
were  seen  to  the  south-east,  formed  in  line  of  battle.  The  Brit- 
ish admiral  declined  a  general  engagement,  on  the  ground  of  the 
inferiority  of  his  fleet,  and  set  sail  for  Gibraltar. 

When  the  news  of  this  ignoble  cowardice  reached  England, 
a  great  storm  of  popular  fury  burst  upon  the  head  of  the  un- 
happy admiral.  The  nation  was'at  that  moment  highly  incensed 
at  the  French,  and  they  could  ill  brook  the  disappointment  of 
their  anticipated  vengeance.  The  ministry,  not  daring  to  resist 
the  popular  torrent,  appointed  Admirals  Hawke  and  Sanders  to 
take  the  command,  and  ordered  Byng  to  be  sent  home  under 
arrest.  On  his  arrival  he  was  committed  a  close  prisoner  to 
Greenwich  hospital.  The  angry  nation  demanded  his  blood,  and 
would  hear  of  no  defence  or  palliation.  He  was  charged  with 
cowardice,  treachery,  and  gross  ignorance.  The  shop  windows 
were  filled  with  libels  and  caricatures.  Numerous  addresses 
were  sent  up  to  the  king,  demanding  the  punishment  of  the 
criminal ;  and  special  instructions  were  sent  to  many  representa- 
tives in  Parliament,  by  their  constituents,  requiring  them  to  vote 
against  the  unfortunate  Admiral,  and  insist  on  the  penalty  of 
death. 

Byng  was  accordingly  tried,  convicted,  condemned,  and  exe- 
cuted.* No  crime  was  proved,  or  could  be  proved  against  him, 
except  an  involuntary  error  of  judgment,  in  supposing  that  his 
fleet  was  too  small  to  cope  successfully  with  the  much  more 
numerous  armament  of  the  French.  Had  he  fought  and  been 
beaten,  it  had  been,  in  the  opinion  of  the  nation,  much  better  than 
not  to  have  engaged  at  all.  But  Byng  expiated  his  offence  with 
his  blood,  and  thus  the  vengeance  of  the  people  was  slaked  for  the 

*  His  trial  commenced  on  December  28tb,  1756 ;  and  he  waa  executed  on  the 
14th  of  March,  1757. 


158  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

time.  George  II.  seemed  to  partake  of  the  fury  which  convulsed 
his  siibj  ects  ;  and  approved  of  the  execution  of  the  unfortunate 
Admiral.  But  his  death  did  not  bring  back  popularity  and  power 
to  that  feeble  ministry.  It  held  power  precisely  five  months, 
and  new  changes  became  absolutely  necessary.  Pitt  and  his 
brother-in-law  Temple,  again  came  into  office,  and  again  went 
out,  after  a  short  collision  with  the  impracticable  and  narrow- 
minded  Newcastle ;  with  whom  no  liberal-minded  statesman 
could  co-operate,  as  long  as  he  remained  at  the  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

England  without  a  Ministry— New  Cabinet  formed— William  Pitt  becomes  Premier — 
His  Extraordinary  Character— The  Vigor  and  Energy  of  his  Government— Success 
of  the  British  Arms  by  Land  and  Sea— National  Exultation — The  British  Empire  in 
India — Its  History  and  Vicissitudes — The  French  Power  in  India — Conflicts  betweea 
the  two  Nations— Brilliant  Victories  of  Clive — Surajah  Doulah — Horrors  of  tha 
Black  Hole — Popularity  of  Pitfs  Administration  at  Home — Death  of  George  II. — 
His  Intellectual  and  Moral  Character — Eminent  Men  of  Letters  during  his  Keign— 
State  of  Keligion  and  of  the  Established  Church — Cardinal  Principle  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  George  II. 

During  eleven  weeks  England  remained  in  the  anomalous  po- 
sition of  possessing  no  ministry,  although  during  that  interval 
the  Parliament  was  in  session,  and  the  war  with  France  was  rag- 
ing, Pitt  was  evidently  the  only  person  who  could  grasp  the 
helm  of  the  ship  of  state  in  that  great  crisis,  with  a  powerful  and 
steady  hand,  and  conduct  her  safely  into  port.  But  George  II. 
hated  and  feared  Pitt  as  he  hated  and  feared  no  other  man  ;  and 
he  resisted  every  proposition  which  was  made  for  the  purpose 
of  effecting  his  recall  to  power.  At  length,  after  trying  every 
other  expedient  in  vain,  and  sending  Newcastle  smirking  and 
chattering  around  the  court,  and  through  the  Parliament,  to  con- 
fer with  every  available  person,  the  king  was  compelled  to  yield ; 
and  the  Great  Commoner  was  called  at  last  to  fill  the  exalted 
post  for  which,  of  all  other  Englishmen,  he  was  best  adapted. 
By  this  new  arrangement  Pitt  became  prime  minister,  Newcastle 
took  the  Treasury  and  Foreign  Affairs,  Fox  became  Paymaster 
of  the  Forces,  Lord  Anson,  first  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  Mr. 
Legge,  leader  in  Parliament,  and  Sir  Robert  Henley,  keeper  of 
the  Great  Seal.  By  this  coalition,  all  opposition  in  Parliament 
seemed  to  be  annihilated ;  a  powerful  and  compact  ministry  ap- 


160  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEOKGES. 

peared  to  have  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  country  ;  and  the 
entire  direction  of  the  war  was  thus  intrusted  to  Pitt,  the  bold- 
est, most  energetic,  and  most  patriotic  of  statesmen.  At  this 
fortunate  consummation  the  nation  rejoiced,  and  George  II. 
was  glad  in  spite  of  himself;  inasmuch  as  it  promised  him 
a  release  from  the  cares  of  government,  and  greater  leisure  to 
divert  himself  with  the  puerilities  which,  together  with  the  so- 
ciety of  the  "  Countess  Walmoden  "  filled  up  the  empty  and  use- 
less vacuum  of  his  existence. 

From  the  moment  that  Pitt  seized  the  helm,  the  tide  of  vic- 
tory and  glory  began  to  turn  in  favor  of  the  British  arms,  both 
by  land  and  sea.  A  large  fleet  was  ordered  to  sail  from  Ports- 
mouth in  the  beginning  of  September  for  the  purpose  of  reducing 
Rochefort.  As  soon  as  Lord  Anson  of  the  Admiralty  was  in- 
formed that  a  specific  time  had  been  fixed  for  the  departure  of 
the  fleet,  he  replied  that  it  was  impossible  to  comply  with  the 
requisition.  Pitt  boldly  answered  that  it  was  possible ;  and  that 
if  the  ships  were  not  then  ready  he  should  impeach  his  lordship 
for  neglect  in  the  House  of  Commons.  This  sort  of  address  to 
the  first  lord  of  the  Admiralty  was  new ;  but  it  was  effective ; 
and  the  ships  were  all  ready  at  the  appointed  time.  The  fleet 
sailed  under  the  command  of  Admirals  Hawke  and  Mordaunt. 
The  island  of  Aix  was  taken.  Rochefort  was  threatened.  Some 
of  the  enemy's  ships  were  burned  in  the  harbor  of  St.  Maloes. 
In  July,  1758,  Louisburgh  capitulated  to  General  Amherst;  by 
which  means  the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  six  ships  of  the  line,  and 
five  frigates,  also  became  the  trophies  of  the  British  commander. 
In  the  next  campaign  the  important  fortresses  of  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point  fell  into  his  hands.  But  the  most  glorious 
achievement  which  had  yet  honored  the  arms  of  Britain  during 
the  war  was  the  assault  and  capture  of  Quebec,  the  capital  of  the 
French  possessions  in  Canada.  Both  nature  and  art  had  con- 
spired to  render  this  place  almost  impregnable.  Its  elevated  po- 
sition, the  abruptness  of  the  heights  on  which  it  was  built,  and  the 
extent  and  strength  of  the  fortifications,  seemed  to  justify  the 
prevalent  opinion  that  it  was  unassailable.     The  heroic  Wolfe 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  SECOND.  161 

commancled  the  British  troops  on  this  occasion.  He  reached  the 
works  by  scaling  the  almost  peri^endicular  heights  of  Abraham 
— an  achievement  which  had  been  itself  regarded  as  impossible. 
The  commander  of  the  French  forces,  General  Montcalm,  aban. 
doning  his  intrenchments,  advanced  to  meet  his  foe.  A  furious 
combat  followed.  General  Wolfe  was  mortally  wounded,  but  he 
refused  to  leave  the  battlefield,  though  rapidly  sinking.  When 
he  heard  some  one  exclaim,  "  They  fly  !  "  the  dying  hero,  raising 
his  head,  inquired,  "  Who  fly  1 "  Being  told  that  the  French 
were  beaten,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  die  content."  The  victory  was 
complete ;  Quebec  capitulated ;  and  the  whole  French  armament 
fled  to  Montreal. 

When  the  news  of  this  splendid  series  of  triumphs  reached 
England,  the  nation,  so  long  unaccustomed  to  receive  tidings  of 
success,  became  almost  delirious  with  joy.  Those  who  returned 
from  the  scenes  of  conflict  were  received  with  the  highest  honors. 
The  standards  which  had  been  captured  from  the  foe  on  various 
fields  of  blood,  were  carried  in  public  procession  to  the  Cathe- 
dral of  St.  Paul,  and  there  suspended  as  trophies.  The  heavens 
were  rent  with  the  acclamations  of  great  multitudes.  Bonfires, 
addresses  of  congratulation,  and  discharges  of  artillery,  attested 
the  national  joy.  Parliament  voted  immense  subsidies  to  carry 
on  the  war  ;  and  decreed  a  monument  to  be  erected  over  the  re- 
mains of  General  Wolfe,  to  whose  fortitude  and  genius  the  most 
important  of  these  victories  was  due.  While  these  scenes  of 
exultation  were  being  enacted  at  home.  Admiral  Hawke  attacked, 
defeated,  and  scattered,  in  November,  1759,  a  large  French  arma- 
ment in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  obtained  a  victory  which  com- 
pletely destroyed  the  French  marine.  This  event  added  greater 
intensity  to  the  prevalent  rejoicing.  Thus  both  upon  land  and 
sea  the  tide  of  fortune  had  turned ;  and  the  ability  and  energy  of 
Pitt  had  introduced  an  era,  in  which  a  conquest  and  a  triumph 
became  an  everyday  occurrence.  Yet  the  most  brilliant  and  gor- 
geous of  all  the  achievements  which  British  arms,  enterprise,  and 
diplomacy  were  destined  to  make,  were  still  to  come  ;  and  that 
too  in  a  far  distant  clime,  in  a  vast  and  extensive  country,  among 


162  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEOKGES. 

Strange  and  unfamiliar  people,  and  amid  scenes  of  romantic  ori- 
ental splendor. 

The  origin,  establishment,  and  supremacy  of  the  British  Em- 
pire in  India  form  one  of  the  greatest  marvels  of  modern  times. 
That  a  purely  mercantile  company,  organized  for  the  peaceful 
purposes  of  commerce  and  trade,  should  eventually  become  the 
despotic  rulers  of  a  cluster  of  great  nations,  numbering  fifty  mil- 
lions of  people,  inhabiting  a  territory  two  thousand  miles  in  ex- 
tent, and  they  the  descendants  of  the  soldiers  of  mighty  and 
world-renowned  conquerors  of  former  times,  the  fame  of  whose 
achievements  had  long  been  familiar  even  throughout  Europe ; 
— that  was  an  event  perhaps  unparalleled  in  history.  In  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  British  East  India  Company  having  been 
chartered,  and  established  by  law,  its  first  foothold  within  the 
limits  of  the  vast  empire  which  it  was  destined  afterward  to  pos- 
sess, was  obtained  by  purchase.  The  island  of  Bombay  and  the 
factory  of  Surat,  on  the  Malabar  coast.  Fort  St.  David,  and  Fort 
St.  George,  usually  styled  Madras,  on  the  opposite  shore  of  Coro- 
mandel,  and  several  villages  in  the  vicinity,  had  been  bought  by 
the  company  from  the  King  of  Golconda ;  and  their  commer- 
cial operations  were  immediately  commenced.  Fort  William, 
and  the  to'WTi  of  Calcutta,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges  were  soon 
added  to  the  possessions  of  the  enterprising  traders ;  and  thus 
the  foundations  of  the  British  Empire  in  the  land  of  Tamerlane 
and  Aurengzebe  were  laid. 

At  this  same  period  the  sagacity  of  the  French  had  enabled 
them  to  take  hold  of  the  same  glittering  and  inviting  prize. 
They  had  established  extensive  commercial  relations  at  Pondi- 
chcrry,  on  the  Coromandel  coast,  at  Chandernagore,  on  the  Gan- 
ges, at  Rajapore,  Calicut,  and  Surat,  on  the  continent ;  and  at 
the  period  of  the  accession  of  the  house  of  Hanover  to  the  Brit- 
ish throne,  their  wealth  and  influence  in  India  greatly  exceeded 
that  of  their  English  rivals.  The  commanding  genius  of  the 
French  in  India — he  whose  daring  and  sagacious  intellect  had 
foreseen  the  splendor  and  extent  of  the  empire  which  European 
ability  and  energy  might  establish  in  the  East,  and  who  carried 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  SECOND.  1G3 

out  his  ambitious  plans  for  a  period  with  consummate  talent  and 
signal  success — was  Dupleix.     He  took  advantage  of  the  domes- 
tic disputes  existing  between  the  princes  who  ruled  the  province 
of  Arcot,  and  the  Viceroy  of  the  Decan.     He  proposed  to  rear, 
upon  the  crumbling  and  decrepit  dynasties  of  India,  a  vast  and 
magnificent  empire,  which  sliould  rival  or  exceed  those  of  the 
West ;  and  the  chief  means  by  which  this  result  was  to  be  ob- 
tained, he  clearly  saw,  was  to  use  European  soldiers,  trained  ac- 
cording to  the  tactics,  and  expert  in  the  military  science  of  Saxe, 
Vendome,  and  Turenne.     He  also  perceived  that  it  would  be  a 
profound  stroke  of  policy  in  any  European  adventurer,  were  he 
to  use  some  feeble  and  debauched  native  prince,  as  the  pretext 
and  the  veil  whereby  to  hide  the  ambition,  the  avarice,  and  the 
tyranny,  which  would  be  the  prominent  characteristics  of  the 
career  of  the  bold  and  successful  aspirant.     Such  a  puppet  he 
quickly  found  in  Muzapher-Zing,  whom  eventually  he  raised  to 
the  throne  of  the  vice-royalty  of  the  Decan  and  the  government 
of  the  Carnatic.     This  was  but  the  opening  of  the  gigantic  plans 
which  Dupleix  had  conceived  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  this  very 
resolute  and  unscrupulous  adventurer  would  have  succeeded  in 
the  full  realization  of  his  vast  conceptions,  had  not  accident  placed 
an  obstacle  in  his  pathway,  in  the  person  of  a  man  whose  ex- 
traordinaxy  qualities  rendered  him  eventually  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  men  of  his  time.     Eobert  Clive  alone,  of  all  living 
Englishmen  either  in  England  or  in  India,  possessed  the  genius 
and  the  determination  to  crush   not  only  the  aspiring  head  of 
Dupleix,  but  that  of  every  native  prince  or   hero  who  dared 
to  oppose  him.     This  man  had  received  neither  a  military  nor 
a  diplomatic  education.    In  fact,  he  may  be  said  to  have  had  no 
education  at  all ;    for  his  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  a 
turbulent  resistance  to  all  restraint,  and  in  the  uncontrolled  grat- 
ification of  every  passion.     But  when  surrounded  by  the  vortex 
of  perilous  and  critical  affairs,  which  demanded  the  rarest  com- 
bination of  elevated  natural  gifts,  this  young  mercantile  clerk, 
accustomed  only  to  the  inspection  of  bills  of  lading,  at  once  dis- 
played  his  native  superiority ;  exhibited  in  a  wonderful  degree 


164:  HISTOKY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEOKGES. 

both  sagacity,  fortitude,  craft,  prudence,  self-control,  and  an  un- 
conquerable heroism,  which  eventually  secured  to  England  the 
possession  of  the  greatest  and  richest  empire  in  the  East. 

In  four  years  Dupleix  had  become  the  most  jjowerful  person- 
age in  India,  and  the  French  were  everywhere  supreme.  They 
looked  with  a  contempt  which  they  took  no  pains  to  disguise, 
upon  the  imbecile  English  traffickers  of  Madras  and  Calcutta, 
who  seemed  to  have  no  aspiration  save  that  for  the  accumulation 
of  gold.  In  the  progress  of  their  conquests,  the  French  besieged 
Trichinopoly,  the  residence  of  Mohammed- Ali,  the  rival  claim' 
ant  to  the  Yiceroyalty  of  the  Decan.  This  prince  was  the  ally 
of  the  English ;  and  if  he  should  be  taken  or  destroyed,  the  last 
obstacle  to  the  supremacy  of  the  French  in  India  would  be  re- 
moved. Clive,  seated  at  his  desk  in  the  counting  house  of  his 
employer,  perceived  the  greatness  of  the  crisis,  and  persuaded 
the  authorities  at  Madras  to  permit  him  to  lead  a  small  English 
force  to  attack  Arcot,  the  capital  of  the  Carnatic;  hoping  by  this 
means  to  attract  the  French  from  the  siege  of  Trichinopoly. 
Two  hundred  English  soldiers,  and  three  hundred  sepoys,  armed 
and  trained  in  European  tactics,  was  the  insignificant  force  ap- 
pointed to  this  difficult  and  dangerous  enterprise.  Clive  marched 
with  incredible  rapidity  to  Arcot ;  and  the  boldness  and  sudden- 
ness of  the  movement  so  appalled  the  French  garrison,  that  they 
evacuated  the  fort  without  any  resistance.  The  English  entered 
it  in  triumph,  and  began  immediately  to  prepare  to  resist  the 
force  which  they  well  knew  would  very  soon  be  brought  to  bear 
against  them.  In  a  few  days  ten  thousand  troops,  among  whom 
were  several  hundred  French  soldiers,  commanded  by  French 
officers,  surrounded  Arcot ;  and  the  destruction  of  the  insignifi- 
cant garrison  whom  Clive  commanded  seemed  to  be  inevitable. 
Then  ensued  one  of  the  fiercest  and  bloodiest  struggles  on  record. 
During  fifty  days  a  hand-to-hand  fight  was  kept  up.  The  garri- 
son became  greatly  reduced.  At  length  an  effort  was  made  to 
storm  the  works  by  a  general  assault.  Four  officers  and  three 
hundred  soldiers  alone  remained  to  confront  nine  thousand,  aided 
by  a  powerful  artillery,  and  many  armed  elephants.    The  heroic 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE   SECOND.  165 

garrison  received  the  assaihmts  with  undaunted  resolution,  and 
an  unparalleled  conflict  of  an  hour's  duration  ensued.  Thrice 
did  Rajah  Sahib,  the  native  commander,  seated  on  his  milk-white 
elephant,  lead  forward  his  whole  line  to  the  attack.  Thrice  did 
the  thinly  scattered  garrison  hurl  death  and  destruction  into  his 
serried  ranks,  and  compel  them  to  retire.  The  musket  balls  of 
the  English,  directed  against  the  huge  foreheads  of  the  elephants 
prostrated  some  as  dead  masses  and  sent  others  flying  over  the 
field  frantic  with  pain,  trampling  the  native  troops  beneath  their 
feet,  and  adding  to  their  consternation  and  disasters.  At  length 
the  Rajah,  perceiving  the  hopelessness  of  further  effort,  com- 
manded his  disorderly  host  to  retire  from  the  attack.  The  re- 
sult of  this  glorious  defense  of  Arcot  was,  to  establish  the  Brit- 
ish name  and  authority  in  a  large  portion  of  India,  in  the  place 
of  the  supremacy  of  France,  which  had  proportionably  fallen. 
Other  military  operations  ensued,  equally  honorable  to  the  Eng- 
lish. The  siege  of  Trichinopoly  was  raised  soon  after  the  attack 
on  Arcot. 

In  1756  other  events  of  equal  importance  and  interest  trans- 
pired in  India.  The  Viceroy  of  the  vast  province  of  Bengal, 
Surajah  Dowlah,  though  nominally  a  subject  of  the  Great  Mo- 
gul at  Delhi,  was  in  reality  an  independent  prince.  From  his 
youth  he  had  conceived  a  violent  dislike  to  the  English.  As 
long  as  they  remained  feeble  and  obscure,  he  despised  them. 
Now  that  they  had  become  formidable  and  dangerous,  he  feared 
and  hated  them.  He  apprehended  the  future  growth  of  their 
power,  and  he  formed  the  determination  to  crush  them  before 
they  could  become  greater.  He  collected  a  vast  army  and 
marched  to  the  siege  of  Fort  William,  which  was  then  occupied 
chiefly  by  unwarlike  traders.  These  fled  in  terror  as  soon  as  the 
Viceroy's  army  appeared  in  view.  A  few  soldiers  and  traders 
only  remained  behind.  Surajah  Dowlah,  who  was  a  cruel  and 
sanguinary  monster,  entered  the  fort,  and  ordered  all  who 
were  to  be  found  in  the  factories,  or  in  the  fortifications,  to  be 
brought  before  him.  He  wished  to  see  specimens  of  that  de- 
tested race  upon  whose  destruction  he  was  so  intent.     His  com 


166  HISTOEY   OF  THE  FOTIB  GEORGES. 

mand  -was  complied  with,  and  after  he  had  inspected  and  insulted 
these  unfortunate  men,  he  directed  them  to  be  imprisoned.  That 
order  -was  equivalent,  as  the  despot  well  knew,  to  a  warrant  for 
their  execution.  Within  the  fort,  shut  out  entirely  from  the  free 
air  of  heaven,  there  was  a  dark  and  deep  dungeon,  fitly  termed 
the  Black  Hole ;  intended  for  the  occasional  use  of  the  diminutive 
garrison.  It  was  only  twenty  feet  square,  and  had  never  been 
occupied  by  more  than  two  or  three  culprits  at  a  time.  At  that 
season  of  the  year  when  the  ardent  sun  of  Bengal  almost  consumed 
the  vegetation  of  the  earth  by  the  intensity  of  its  heat ;  when  even 
the  natives  could  scarcely  exist,  with  every  convenience  and  free- 
dom which  their  habits  of  living  allowed  them ;  and  all  were  parched 
and  suffocated  by  the  closeness  of  the  atmosphere,  a  hundred  and 
forty-six  Englishmen  were  confined  in  that  hideous  furnace. 
When  their  guards  first  ordered  them  to  enter  it,  they  believed 
them  to  be  jesting.  The  order  was  peremptorily  repeated;  and 
after  expostulating  and  beseeching  in  vain,  they  were  compelled 
to  obey  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  The  bolts  were  then  drawn, 
and  the  unfortunate  captives  were  left  to  their  fate  in  the  stifling 
tomb  to  which  they  had  been  consigned.  No  language  can  ade- 
quately depict  the  horrors  which  ensued.  The  prisoners  made 
every  effort  at  first,  to  move  the  sympathy  and  the  avarice  of 
their  jailers.  They  offered  immense  bribes  to  be  released. 
Their  guards  laughed  at  their  agonies,  which  were  but  commenc- 
ing; and  remained  uninfluenced  by  their  gold,  their  supplications, 
their  execrations,  and  their  tears.  Soon  the  pangs  of  that  great 
agony  became  insupportable,  and  the  sufferers  began  to  be  de- 
lirious. Then  they  fought  with  each  other,  and  contended  with 
murderous  and  desperate  violence  for  places  near  the  several 
small  loop-holes,  which  perforated  to  little  purpose  the  massive 
walls.  Some  prayed,  some  laughed,  and  some  blasphemed. 
Others  implored  their  comrades  to  put  an  end  to  their  existence, 
and  others  still  attempted  by  their  own  hands  to  terminate  their 
sufferings.  Death,  more  merciful  than  the  jailors  of  Surajah 
Dowlali,  soon  relieved  them.  Their  screams  of  agony  and  de- 
spair gradually  subsided  into  melancholy  moans ;   and  as  the 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  SECOND.  167 

heated  hours  of  the  night  wore  slowly  on,  one  after  another  of 
the  captives  expired.  When  at  length  the  morning  dawned,  and 
the  door  of  that  memorable  prison  was  opened,  it  was  crowded 
from  floor  to  ceiling  with  irregular  piles  of  corpses.  Out  of  the 
whole  number  who  had  entered  it  on  the  preceding  night,  but 
twenty-three  survived,  and  they  themselves  were  little  better 
than  dead  men. 

Surajah  Dowlah  exhibited  no  sorrow  for  the  horrible  fate 
which  had  befallen  his  captives.  But  they  were  speedily 
avenged.  He  was  subsequently  attacked  by  an  English  force 
under  the  command  of  Clive,  on  the  memorable  plain  of  Plas- 
sey ;  where  three  thousand  European  troops  confronted  and  van- 
quished with  great  slaughter  an  army  of  seventy  thousand  men, 
accompanied  by  fifty  pieces  of  artillery.  This  numerous  arma- 
ment, composed  of  the  best  native  troops  of  India,  some  of 
which  were  infantry  and  some  cavalry,  covered  the  plain  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach  ;  yet  the  heroism  of  the  British  com- 
mander and  troops  achieved  an  overwhelming  victory.  The 
viceroy  was  compelled  to  flee.  His  army  was  scattered.  Hav- 
ing returned  to  Moorshedabad,  his  capital,  he  was  forced  to 
escape  thence  at  midnight,  and  being  discovered  in  his  flight,  he 
was  taken  and  executed.  The  shades  of  the  unfortunate  captives 
of  the  Black  Hole  were  avenged ;  and  the  British  power  was 
established  on  a  firm  and  permanent  basis  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  Carnatic,  both  over  the  native  population,  and  over  the 
dispirited  and  subjugated  French  residents. 

At  home  the  administration  of  William  Pitt  still  continued 
to  win  the  popular  favor.  Plis  measures  were  patriotic,  ener- 
getic, and  successful.  He  secured  the  establishment  of  a  national 
militia,  which  produced  a  comprehensive  and  effectual  system  of 
national  defence ;  although  the  number  of  men  was  reduced  by 
the  House  of  Peers  from  sixty-four  thousand  to  thirty-two  thou- 
sand. At  the  opening  of  parliament  in  December,  1757,  George 
II.  officially  informed  the  House  of  the  successes  which  had  re- 
cently attended  the  arms  of  his  illustrious  relative  and  ally,  the 
King  of  Prussia ;  and  requested  that  such  assistance  might  be 


168  HISTOKY   OF   THE  FOUK   GEOKGES. 

granted  him  by  the  English  government,  as  would  enahle  that 
hero  to  continue  his  heroic  defence  of  the  Protestant  religion,  and 
of  the  liberties  of  Europe.  The  Seven  Years'  war  was  then  in 
progress ;  but  neither  the  Protestant  religion  nor  the  liberties  of 
Europe  had  the  slightest  connection  either  with  its  origin,  its 
progress,  or  its  results.  Nevertheless  the  Commons  returned  a 
most  dutiful  and  loyal  answer,  and  subsidies  to  the  immense 
amount  of  ten  million  pounds  were  unanimously  voted. 

Successes  still  continued  to  attend  the  British  arms  and  to  add 
mimerited  lustre  to  the  reign  of  the  aged  and  decrepit  monarch. 
When  parliament  met  in  November,  1759,  the  Lord  Keeper 
dwelt  exultingly  upon  the  long  and  brilliant  series  of  victories 
which  British  valor  had  won  in  North  America,  in  the  West 
Indies,  in  the  East  Indies,  and  upon  the  high  seas.  In  truth,  as 
George  II.  became  more  feeble  and  insignificant,  the  splendor  of 
his  reign  became  more  imposing,  in  consequence  of  the  energy 
and  ability  with  which  William  Pitt  directed  every  department 
of  the  government,  infusing  into  each  branch  of  the  service 
some  portion  of  the  peculiar  qualities  which  he  himself  pos- 
sessed. 

Just  at  this  crisis  of  universal  success  and  triumph  George 
U.  expired.  A  large  portion  of  his  family  had  preceded  him. 
Prince  Frederic,  the  heir  apparent,  first  passed  from  the  scene.  In 
1751  Louisa,  Queen  of  Denmark,  died.  Young  Prince  Edward 
also  was  cut  off"  prematurely  by  an  imposthume  in  his  side.  The 
Princess  Anne  of  Orange  had  also  been  called  away.  And  at  last 
the  aged  monarch  received  the  summons  to  follow  them.  On 
Friday,  the  24th  of  October,  1760,  he  retired  to  rest  at  his 
usual  hour,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  ordinary  health.  He 
slept  well  during  the  night,  and  at  six  o'clock  in  the  ensuing 
morning  he  rose,  drank  his  usual  cup  of  chocolate,  walked  to  the 
window,  looked  out  upon  the  Kensington  gardens,  and  remarked 
that  the  wind  was  unfavorable  for  the  arrival  of  the  expected 
packet  which  conveyed  his  dispatches  from  Holland.  He 
remarked  to  his  attendant  that  he  would  take  a  short  walk 
in  the  garden.     He  started  through  the  adjoining  apartment  in 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   SECOND.  169 

pursuance  of  this  purpose,  when  he  suddenly  fell 'to  the  floor. 
In  falling,  he  inflicted  a  wound  on  his  right  temple,  produced  by 
striking  it  on  the  corner  of  a  bureau.  His  attendants,  hurrying 
to  his  side,  found  him  gasping  for  breath.  lie  feebly  said, 
"  Send  for  Amelia,"  and  expired.  He  was  instantly  conveyed  to 
the  bed  from  which  he  had  so  recently  risen,  and  every  effort 
was  made  by  the  physicians,  who  were  quickly  sent  for,  to  re- 
suscitate nature  ;  yet  to  no  purpose.  His  daughter  the  Princess 
Amelia  arrived ;  but  it  was  only  to  embrace  the  lifeless  corpse 
of  her  father.  His  grandson,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  now  monarch 
of  the  British  realms,  was  sent  for,  and  informed  of  the  momen- 
tous event  which  had  occurred.  He  was  riding  at  a  distance 
from  the  palace  when  the  message  reached  him.  Without  ex- 
hibiting much  surprise  or  emotion,  he  remarked  to  his  attendant 
that  his  horse  was  lame,  and  wheeling  round  returned.  It  is 
singular  that  the  longest  reign  in  British  annals  should  have 
commenced  with  the  utterance  of  an  unnecessary  and  puerile 
falsehood. 

George  II.  being  dead,  he  was  bui-ied  in  the  ancient  vault  of 
the  Kings  of  England,  with  the  gorgeous  and  impressive  cere- 
monies which  usually  attended  the  funeral  of  the  defunct  raon- 
archs.  This  undeserving  and  insignificant  man  expired  in  the 
propitious  hour  of  victory  and  universal  national  joy ;  and  in 
this  peculiarity  of  his  fate,  he  furnished  another  illustration  of 
the  disparity  which  exists  in  the  dispensations  of  Providence 
among  royal  as  well  as  among  plebeian  personages ;  for  while 
many  of  the  former  have  ended  their  unfortunate  or  turbulent 
careers  in  disappointment  and  gloom,  with  the  future  fate  of 
their  dynasties  wrapped  in  uncertain  perils,  George  II.  enjoyed 
the  rare  felicity  of  being  permitted  to  expire  on  the  bosom  of 
victory,  in  a  ripe  old  age,  with  peace,  contentment,  and  pros- 
perity richly  possessed  by  his  subjects  at  home  ;  with  the  na- 
tional glory  honored  and  revered  by  the  whole  world,  and  with 
the  prospect  of  a  tranquil  and  secure  succession  being  inlierited 
by  his  descendant. 

Although  the  character  of  George  II.  was  in  every  respect  an 
8 


170  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOITK   GEOEGES. 

ordinary  one,  and  though  he  exhibited  but  very  few  qualities 
which  entitled  him  to  admiration  and  esteem,  his  death  was 
mourned  by  the  popular  poets  by  the  effusion  of  an  immense 
quantity  of  rhyming  and  jingling  grief.  The  nation  at  large  were 
indifferent  at  the  event,  and  prepared  themselves  quietly  to  ac- 
knowledge the  accession  and  the  authority  of  his  successor.  Thus 
far  indeed  the  House  of  Hanover  had  exhibited  but  few  attributes 
which  were  calculated  to  engage  the  affections  of  their  subjects; 
and  George  II.  was  the  least  attractive  of  the  two  sovereigns  of 
that  race  who  had  occupied  the  throne,* 

In  his  person  George  II.  was  diminutive  and  undignified. 
His  intellect  was  superficial  and  imbecile;  and  he  remained  a 
German  until  the  day  of  his  death,  in  every  essential  feature. 
In  his  youth  he  had  received  the  usual  routine  of  the  education 
of  princes,  which  had  been,  in  truth,  fully  equal  to  the  extent  of 
his  faculties.  He  was  utterly  indifferent  to  the  promotion  of 
science  and  literature,  and  never  extended  to  them  the  least 
patronage.  He  never  became  a  master  even  of  the  prevalent 
dialect  of  his  subjects ;  and,  to  use  his  OAvn  inelegant  language,  he 
cordially  hated  "  boetry  and  bainting."  Yet  in  spite  of  his  total 
disregard  of  the  importance  and  charms  of  literature,  education, 
^science,  and  art,  they  all  flourished  during  his  reign  in  an  unusual 
degree.  It  seemed  indeed  to  have  been  the  singular  and  fortu- 
nate lot  of  George  II.  to  behold  the  triumphs,  both  of  arts  and 
arms,  of  intellectual  and  physical  power,  among  his  subjects, 
while  he  himself,  by  his  example  of  indifference  to  these  results, 
exerted  his  influence  to  prevent  or  postpone  so  felicitous  a  result. 
During  his  reign,  and  especially  in  its  concluding  years,  the 
genius  of  the  British  people  shone  forth  brilliantly  in  every  de- 
partment of  its  power.  This  was  the  era  in  which  the  graceful 
pens  of  Gray,  Young,  and  Thompson,  produced  their  matchless 

*  George  II.  was  possessed  at  the  period  of  his  death  of  considerable  per- 
sonal property.  He  bequeathed  fifty  thousand  pounds  to  his  favorite,  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  and  the  Princesses  Amelia  and  Mary.  To  the  Countess 
Walmoden  he  left  a  cabinet,  the  contents  of  which  were  estimated  at  eleven 
thousand  pounds.  He  also  willed  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  a  number  of  mort- 
gages amounting  to  the  sum  of  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  pounds* 


LIFE  AXD  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  8EC0OT).  171 

numbers,  so  descriptive  of  the  beauties  and  the  attributes  of 
nature ;  for  the  Church-yard  Elegy,  the  Seasons,  and  the  Night 
Thoughts,  will  ever  remain  contributions  of  the  richest  value  to 
the  poetical  literature  of  the  language.  In  the  department  of  the 
drama,  the  pathetic  effusions  of  Otway,  and  the  elegant  composi- 
tions of  Rowe,  deservedly  attained  great  eminence ;  although  their 
labors  were  so  little  appreciated  by  the  monarch,  or  by  the 
court,  that  the  gifted  author  of  Venice  Preserved,  absolutely 
starved  to  death.*  In  comedy,  Congreve,  Vanburgh,  and  Far- 
quhar,  produced  works  of  sterling  merit,  which  are  to  this  day 
admired  and  represented.  Two  great  historians  began  to  flourish 
during  the  life  of  the  second  George,  and  culminated  during  the 
succeeding  reign ;  for  the  names  of  Hume  and  Robertson  will 
ever  rank  among  the  first  in  that  difficult  yet  attractive  species  of 
composition.  The  History  of  England,  and  the  Reign  of  Charles 
v.,  possess  peculiar  and  distinctive  merits  which  have  rendered 
their  authors  immortal.  In  the  department  of  philosophy  or 
metaphysics.  Hartley  became  greatly  distinguished  by  intro- 
ducing a  system  which  was  remarkable  for  its  simplicity  and 
clearness,  and  for  its  accurate  accordance  with  the  real  phenom- 
ena of  human  nature.  Bentley  was  celebrated  as  a  philologist. 
Warburton,  Samuel  Clarke,  and  Hoadley,  were  eminent  as  the- 
ological WTiters,  and  deservedly  ranked  among  the  most  pro- 
found and  learned  thinkers  of  the  age.  To  these  may  be  added 
the  names  and  productions  of  Foster,  Chandler,  Leland,  Lardner, 
and  Lowth,  as  possessing  equal  distinction  and  merit. 

Nor  were  the  fme  arts  left  without  illustrious  representatives. 

*  The  climax  of  the  literary  misery  of  this  period,  the  harrowing  details  of 
which  have  reached  us,  was  found  in  the  person  of  Samuel  Boyce,  whose  name 
and  works  are  now  almost  unknown,  yet  whose  genius  was  of  a  high  order. 
This  unfortunate  man  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1698.  He  first  migrated  to  Edin- 
burgh, and  thence  to  London.  He  lived  and  died  in  the  most  abject  poverty.  In 
1740  it  is  recorded  of  him,  that  he  had  not  a  shirt,  a  coat,  or  any  kind  of  apparel 
to  put  on,  and  the  bed  sheets  on  which  he  lay  were  sent  to  the  pawnbroker.  He 
frequently  wrote  sitting  in  bed  with  no  covering  but  a  blanket,  in  which  a  hole 
had  been  cut  to  receive  his  head,  and  others  to  admit  his  arms.  He  died  at  last 
in  the  alms-house,  and  was  buried  by  the  parish.  Gibber's  Lives  of  the  Foets, 
p.  163. 


1Y2  HISTOKY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  in  painting,  Wilton  in  sculpture,  Handel, 
Arne,  and  Boyce  in  music,  contributed  to  add  to  the  lustre  of 
this  period.  In  one  single  respect  does  George  11.  deserve  the 
esteem  of  posterity  for  his  personal  conduct  and  opinions  :  he 
declared  that,  during  his  reign,  there  should  be  no  persecution 
for  conscience  sake.  Accordingly  it  was  at  this  era  that  those 
penal  statutes  which  had  for  so  many  ages  been  the  disgrace  of 
the  English  nation,  and  which  exhibited  and  authorized  a  degree 
of  tyranny  which  would  have  dishonored  the  sceptre  of  a  Nero 
or  Heliogabalus,  were  ameliorated,  reformed,  and  finally  in  a 
great  measure  abolished.  This  cheering  feature,  together  with 
the  flourishing  state  of  literature,  and  the  prevalence  of  mental 
activity,  render  this  reign  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  pleasing 
in  British  history  ;  for  these  are  not  to  be  attributed  in  the  least 
degree  to  the  fostering  and  partial  care  of  a  Msecenas  or  a  Dor- 
set, nor  to  the  encouragement  received  from  academical  patron- 
age and  premiums,  but  to  the  cultivation,  intelligence,  and  gen- 
erosity of  the  nation.  Yet  religion  did  not  flourish  at  this  period 
in  the  same  degree  ;  for  in  the  established  church  an  unexampled 
spirit  of  indifference  and  even  of  infidelity  prevailed.  There 
were  hundreds  of  clergymen  who,  like  Dr.  Conyers  Middleton, 
the  author  of  the  life  of  Cicero,  subscribed  to  the  Thirty -nine  Ar- 
ticles for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  sumptuous  or  a  competent 
living,  while  in  their  hearts  they  disbelieved  and  despised  the 
doctrines  which  they  professed.  The  king  and  queen  were  both 
regarded  as  sceptics  in  religion  ;  the  leaders  of  the  beau  monde, 
Lords  Chesterfield  and  Hervey  openly  entertained  the  same  sen- 
timents ;  the  esprit  fortes  of  the  period,  such  as  Lady  Mary 
Wortley  Montague  and  Horace  Walpole,  were  scoffers  at  every 
thing  serious  or  devout;  and  a  disposition  to  ridicule  and  neglect 
the  obligations  of  Christianity  prevailed  among  the  higher  and 
more  cultivated  ranks  of  society.* 

Such  was  England  at  the  period  of  the  death  of  the  second 
monarch  of  the  House  of  Hanover.  If,  during  his  reign,  no 
events  occurred  possessing  the  absorbing  and  thrilling  interest 

*  See  Short's  History  of  the  Church  of  England,  passim. 


LITE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  SECOND.  173 

which  characterized  the  era  of  Cromwell,  of  Charles  II.,  or  of 
William  of  Orange,  yet  one  very  great  advantage  was  enjoyed 
by  his  subjects,  which  was  infinitely  more  to  be  desired  and 
valued  than  more  startling  and  illustrious  characteristics  :  George 
II.  was  content  to  rule  in  harmony  with  the  requirements  of  the 
British  Constitution ;  without  any  violation  of  the  established 
laws  and  the  chartered  liberties  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  in  accord- 
ance with  liberal,  impartial,  and  equitable  principles  of  adminis- 
tration. But  the  intelligent  student  of  his  life  and  reign  must 
admit  that,  in  his  own  character  and  measures  there  was  little  to 
admire ;  while  all  that  was  fortunate,  or  glorious,  or  felicitous 
therein,  was  due  to  the  superior  genius  of  those  great  ministers 
whose  steady  and  skilful  hands  so  ably  guided  the  ship  of  state 
during  many  perilous  and  troubled  years. 


PART  III. 

LIFE  AND   REIGN  OF   GEOEGE    THE   THIRD. 


CHAPTEE   I. 

Birth  of  George  III.— His  Connection  with  Hannah  Lightfoot— Lady  Sarah  Lennox- 
Proposals  for  his  Marriage— Kesearches  of  Colonel  Graeme— The  Prince's  Marriage 

to  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz — Ilor  Character — Accession  of  George  III. 

His  Mental  Qualities— His  Personal  Appearance — Administration  of  William  Pitt — 
Lord  Bute— His  Kelation  to  the  Princess  Dowager — A  New  Ministry — Meeting  of 
Parliament — War  declared  against  Spain — Incidents  of  the  Conflict. 

George  III.  was  born  at  Leicester  Palace  on  the  fourth  of  June, 
1738.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Frederic,  Prince  of  Wales,  the 
heir  apparent  to  the  throne,  who  died,  as  we  have  already  nar- 
rated, in  1751.  His  mother  was  Augusta  of  Saxe-Gotha.  The 
young  prince  was  placed,  when  at  a  suitable  age,  under  the  tu- 
ition of  the  learned  and  amiable  Dr.  Ayscough,  Dean  of  Bristol. 
He  was  intelligent,  diligent,  and  displayed  considerable  aptitude 
for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  On  one  occasion  his  grand- 
father George  II.  sent  Baron  Steinberg  to  examine  him  in  his 
studies.  He  exhibited  more  ^han  ordinary  proficiency  for  his 
years  in  Latin  ;  but  when  Steinberg  remarked  that  he  ought  also 
to  study  German,  he  exclaimed :  "  German !  German !  any 
blocklicad  can  learn  that."  In  every  other  branch  of  knowledge 
the  future  king  was  quite  respectable. 

The  principal  incident  of  the  boyhood  of  George  III.  was  his 
investiture  with  the  order  of  the  Garter  by  his  grandfather,  in 
1749.     The  juvenile  knight  Avas  carried  into  the  royal  presence 


176  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

by  the  Duke  of  Dorset.  He  immediately  commenced  to  deliver 
himself  of  a  speech  which  had  been  taught  him  by  his  tutor  ;  but 
his  eloquence  was  suddenly  stopped  by  the  king,  who  proceeded 
to  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony.  At  an  early  age  the  prince 
proved  himself  susceptible  of  the  tender  sentiment.  The  first  ob- 
ject of  his  amorous  regard  was  a  young  Quakeress,  named  Han- 
nah Lightfoot,  whose  beauty  and  amiable  disposition  exerted  so 
powerful  an  influence  over  him,  that  it  was  the  prevalent  report 
that  he  had  been  married  to  her  privately  in  1759,  in  Curzon 
Street  Chapel,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Keith.  Tlie  witness  of  the  cere- 
mony was  said  to  have  been  his  brother  Edward,  Duke  of  York. 
The  reality  of  this  occurrence  has  been  as  positively  denied  as  it 
has  been  strenuously  asserted ;  and  it  is  impossible  at  this  late  day 
to  ascertain  the  truth  with  certainty.  But  it  is  well  known  that 
the  lovers  kept  house  together ;  that  they  were  devotedly  at- 
tached to  each  other ;  and  it  is  added  by  some  authorities  that 
there  were  children  born  to  them.  In  the  progress  of  time,  how- 
ever, George  became  indifferent  to  the  sedate  and  monotonous 
charms  of  the  Quakeress ;  and  she  was  disposed  of  by  being 
married  to  a  person  named  Axford,  who  received  her  and  her 
very  considerable  dower  without  asking  any  impertinent  or  in- 
convenient questions.  From  that  period  Hannah  and  her  subse- 
quent fate  disappear  beneath  the  shadows  of  oblivion. 

The  fair  and  fascinating  Lady  Sarah  Lennox  was  the  next  object 
of  the  affectionate  regard  of  the  young  prince.  On  a  certain  oc- 
casion the  tragedy  of  Jane  Shore  was  enacted  at  Holland  House. 
Charles  Fox  represented  Hastings,  and  Sarah  Lennox  played  the 
part  of  the  unfortunate  yet  beautiful  heroine  of  the  piece.  Her 
acting  was  so  natural  and  affecting,  and  her  personal  charms  were 
so  powerful,  that  she  completely  stormed  the  heart  of  the  suscep- 
tible prince,  who  witnessed  her  performance ;  and  had  she  not  been 
a  British  subject,  her  lover  would  have  led  her  to  the  altar ;  but 
against  such  a  proceeding  a  stringent  statute  had  been  made  and 
provided,  which  rendered  it  absolutely  impossible.  It  accord- 
ingly became  necessary  for  the  friends  of  the  prince  to  look  else- 
where for  a  suitable  and  lawful  partner  of  his  fortunes. 


LIFE  AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  THIRD.  177 

Various  persons  were  suggested  in  this  emergency.  The 
mother  of  the  prince,  and  Lord  Bute,  who  already  occupied  the 
questionable  relation  toward  her  which  afterward  led  to  his  ele- 
vation to  the  premiership,  were  in  favor  of  a  member  of  the 
house  of  Saxe-Gotha,  to  which  she  herself  belonged.  But  George 
II.  declared,  in  no  very  delicate  manner,  that  he  had  had  enough 
of  that  family  already.  At  length  Colonel  Graeme,  a  Hanover- 
ian favorite  of  the  monarch,  was  despatched  to  the  continent  with 
orders  to  visit  all  the  German  courts  without  divulging  his  pur- 
pose ;  to  scrutinize  the  merits  and  peculiarities  of  the  several 
eligible  princesses  ;  and  report  the  results  of  his  observations. 
In  the  execution  of  this  commission,  the  Colonel  happened  to 
pass  a  few  days  at  the  famous  baths  of  Pyrmont.  There  were 
collected  together  a  number  of  noble  families,  for  the  purpose  of 
enjoying  the  salutary  effects  of  the  waters.  Etiquette  and  for- 
mality were  in  a  great  measure  thrown  aside  ;  and  delicate  and 
fair  young  ladies,  who  at  home  were  models  of  obedience  to  the 
rigors  of  an  iron  restraint  and  formality,  enjoyed  themselves 
with  a  perfect  and  healthful  freedom.  Among  the  handsomest 
and  wildest  of  these  enfranchised  young  slaves  were  the  two 
daughters  of  the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz. 
The  vigilant  Colonel  soon  became  sensible  of  the  superior  beauty 
and  intelligence  of  the  younger  of  these  ladies,  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte Sophia,  and  immediately  fell  vicariously  in  love  with  her. 
He  sent  information  directly  to  the  court  of  London,  of  the  im- 
portant discovery  which  he  had  made  ;  expatiated  at  length  upon 
the  merits  of  the  princess  ;  and  thus  became  the  means  of  event- 
ually providing  a  queen  for  England.  Nor  does  the  choice  of 
the  acute  Colonel  appear  to  have  been  a  bad  one.  Charlotte 
was  the  daughter  of  Charles  Louis,  the  Duke  of  Mirow,  the 
second  son  of  the  Duke  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz.  She  was  born 
in  May,  1744.  She  had  in  her  earlier  youth  been  instructed  by 
Madame  de  Grabon,  who  has  generally  been  termed  the  German. 
Sappho.  She  had  been  carefully  educated  by  Dr.  Geitzner  in 
Lutheran  theology,  in  natural  history,  and  other  useful  sciences. 
She  was  a  good  linguist,  a  good  musician,  and  an  admirable 
8* 


178  HISTOKY   OF   THE  FOUK   GEOEGES. 

dancer.  She  was  a  young  lady  of  sense  and  spirit ;  and  to  all 
these  charms  she  added  the  less  impalpable  ones  of  a  very  intel- 
ligent and  pleasing  countenance,  and  a  figure  of  medium  size, 
perfect  in  its  mould  and  proportions.  After  the  death  of  George 
II.,  and  the  accession  of  his  grandson,  the  latter  communicated 
to  his  council  his  approaching  marriage  in  July,  1761.  At  first 
the  announcement  was  not  received  with  any  great  enthusiasm 
either  by  the  cabinet  or  by  the  people ;  for  Mecklenburg  Strelitz 
was  one  of  the  most  insignificant  of  the  many  insignificant  prin- 
cipalities of  Germany,  and  unworthy  of  the  connection.  But 
soon  every  body  became  reconciled  to  an  event,  to  which  indeed 
there  could  be  no  valid  objection ;  and  Lord  Harcourt  was  de- 
puted to  visit  Strelitz,  and  demand  the  hand  of  the  young 
princess  in  form.  There  were  few  or  no  difficulties  in  the  way. 
A  favorable  answer  was  readily  given.  The  treaty  of  marriage 
was  signed  at  Strelitz  on  the  15th  of  August ;  and  the  Earl  of 
Hardwickc  was  sent  to  convey  the  intended  queen  to  England. 
He  was  accompanied  by  two  ladies  of  extraordinary  beauty,  the 
Duchesses  of  Hamilton  and  Ancaster.  The  princess  was  aston- 
ished, as  she  well  might  be,  when  she  first  beheld  the  fair  com- 
panions of  her  voyage,  and  inquired  with  some  apprehension,  if 
there  were  many  such  beautiful  women  in  the  English  court. 
These  ladies  had  in  fact  no  rivals  in  this  respect  in  England ;  yet 
even  in  their  presence  the  graceful  and  talented  young  bride  of 
George  III.  need  not  have  been  in  the  least  degree  discouraged. 

The  bride  traversed  the  channel  in  the  fleet  commanded  by 
Admiral  Anson.  The  passage  was  stormy  but  not  dangerous. 
Having  at  length  disembarked  at  Harwich,  she  commenced  her 
journey  toward  London,  accompanied  by  a  large  retinue  of  noble 
ladies  and  their  attendants  who  had  been  sent  to  meet  her.  She 
retained  her  buoyant  spirits  until  she  arrived  in  view  of  the  Pal- 
ace of  St.  James,  where  her  public  presentation  was  to  take 
place.  Here  for  the  first  time  she  became  somewhat  disconcerted 
and  grew  pale.  The  Duchess  of  Hamilton  endeavored  to  cheer 
her,  when  she  replied :  "  My  dear  Duchess,  you  may  laugh,  you 
have  been  married  twice ;  but  it's  no  joke  to  me ! "   She  soon 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  THIRD.  179 

recovered  her  usual  self-possession ;  her  intended  husband  met 
her  at  the  palace  gates ;  and  as  she  knelt  on  one  knee  to  pay 
him.  her  homage,  he  prevented  her,  and  kissed  her  with  more 
than  an  ordinary  show  of  princely  affection.  During  the  whole 
scene  of  her  presentation  to  the  old  monarch  and  the  court,  she 
conducted  herself  admirably,  and  proved  herself  worthy  of  the 
high  alliance  which  had  been  tendered  her.  The  marriage  cer- 
emony took  place  a  few  hours  after  her  arrival,  and  was  cel- 
ebrated in  the  chapel  of  the  Palace  of  St.  James. 

Few  monarchs  ever  ascended  a  throne  under  more  favorable 
circumstances  than  those  which  attended  the  accession  of  George 
III.  His  aged  predecessor  liad  expired  in  the  arms  of  victory,  and 
amid  general  national  prosperity.  In  every  quarter  of  the  globe, 
the  valor  and  power  of  Britain  were  triumphant,  while  at  home 
peace  and  prosperity  prevailed  to  a  degree  rarely  exhibited  in 
the  chequered  history  of  the  nation.  When  George  III.  at  length 
mounted  the  throne  of  the  ancient  yet  ruined  house  of  Stuart, 
the  British  people  rejoiced  in  the  possession  of  a  sovereign,  who, 
among  other  valuable  attributes,  was  a  native  of  the  soil.  That 
feeling  of  ill-concealed  dislike  with  which  the  nation  had  regarded 
the  rule  of  a  foreign  prince  had  passed  away.  Beside  all  this, 
George  III.  was  young,  and  he  secured  that  partiality  with  which 
youth  when  invested  by  no  act  of  its  own  with  great  powers  and 
dangerous  responsibilities  always  secures.  He  had  also  some 
claim  to  hereditary  right.  His  person  was  handsome,  his  man- 
ners agreeable,  his  intellect  respectable,  his  character  unstained 
by  any  known  vice.  The  affections  of  the  nation  gathered  around 
him,  and  became  the  strongest  bulwark  of  his  throne.  Those 
qualities  of  his  mind  which  were  repulsive — his  obstinacy,  his 
narrow  views,  his  exalted  ideas  of  his  prerogatives — had  not  yet 
been  developed.  During  the  reign  of  his  predecessor  he  had  ab- 
stained from  any  interference  in  the  affairs  of  government,  and 
if  he  had  in  consequence  no  powerful  party  particularly  devoted 
to  his  interests,  there  was  none  Avhich  declared  an  intense  and 
deadly  hostility  to  him.  The  two  great  factions  of  Whigs  and 
Tories  still  indeed  existed.    The  former  had  retained  possession 


180  HISTOET   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

of  the  chief  offices  of  the  state  until  the  death  of  George  II.  Had 
his  son  Frederic  Prince  of  Wales,  succeeded,  the  Tories,  to  whom 
he  had  joined  himself  in  his  mad  opposition  to  his  father's  mea- 
sures and  person,  would  have  secured  an  ascendency  as  absolute 
and  as  pernicious  as  that  of  Harley  and  Bolingbroke  during  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne. 

On  the  accession  of  George  III.  he  was  supposed  to  entertain 
sentiments  which  might  be  designated  as  those  of  the  moderate 
Whigs.  On  the  18th  of  November,  1761,  he  delivered  a  speech 
to  Parliament  from  the  throne,  in  which  he  gave  utterance  to 
the  most  popular  opinions.  Said  he :  "  Born  and  educated  in 
this  country,  I  glory  in  the  name  of  Briton ;  and  the  peculiar 
happiness  of  my  life  will  ever  consist  in  promoting  the  happiness 
of  a  people  whose  loyalty  and  warm  affection  to  me,  I  consider 
as  the  greatest  and  most  permanent  security  of  my  throne.  The 
civil  and  religious  rights  of  my  loving  subjects  are  equally  dear 
to  me  with  the  most  valuable  prerogatives  of  my  crown."  * 
Other  sentiments  of  a  similar  character  followed,  in  which  he  de- 
clared that  it  would  be  the  aim  of  his  administration  to  maintain 
as  far  as  possible  the  future  peace  of  the  empire,  to  protect  the 
Protestant  interest  at  home  and  abroad  ;  and  he  concluded  with 
expressing  the  hope  and  the  assurance  that,  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  these  and  other  great  results,  he  would  possess  the  as- 
sistance of  every  honest  man  and  good  citizen,  f  The  royal 
speech  was  received  by  the  nation  with  acclamations  of  grate- 
ful pride  and  pleasure. 

The  powerful  hand  of  William  Pitt  still  guided  the  helm 
of  the  ship  of  state  with  consummate  ability.  Had  he  been 
permitted  to  retain  his  influence  and  to  execute  his  favorite 
measures,  the  same  halo  of  glory  which  had  illumined  the  nation 
ever  since  his  accession  to  power,  would  undoubtedly  have  con- 
tinued to  exist.  But  a  dark  and  malignant  spirit  hovered  behind 
the  throne  of  the  youthful  monarch,  which  was  destined  to  exert 
its  powerful  spell  in  effecting  the  removal  of  the  nation's  favor- 

*  BelsMmJg  Memoirs  of  tJie  Eeign  of  George  III.,  Vol.  L,p.  6. 
t  See  Crolifa  Life  and,  Times  of  George  IV.,  p.  13. 


LIFE  AND   REIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  THIRD.  181 

ite,  and  in  entailing  a  long  series  of  pernicious  measures  and  dis- 
asters. That  spirit — the  evil  genius  of  George  III. — was  the  cel- 
ebrated Lord  Bute. 

Bute  was  a  Scotch  nobleman  who  possessed  large  estates  in 
one  of  the  Hebrides  Islands.  At  an  early  age  he  had  been 
chosen  to  fill  a  vacancy  among  the  Scotch  representative  peers 
in  parliament.  He  was  a  man  of  very  ordinary  ability,  and  was 
never  reelected.  During  twenty  years  he  remained  in  obscurity, 
either  at  his  remote  seat  in  the  Hebrides,  or  subsequently  as  a 
member  of  the  household  of  Prince  Frederic.  After  the  death 
of  the  prince,  he  succeeded  in  ingratiating  himself  into  the  affec- 
tions of  the  widowed  princess.  He  became  her  favored  lover. 
His  chief  recommendation  for  this  place  was  the  possession  of  a 
pleasing  countenance,  and  a  figure  of  rare  beauty  and  symmetry. 
He  was  also  a  person  of  some  literary  cultivation,  while  his 
maimers  were  courtly  and  agreeable.  He  gradually  obtained 
an  absolute  influence  over  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  Princess 
Dowager  ;  and  through  her  he  began  to  govern  the  young  king 
with  a  degree  of  success  which  daily  acquired  increasing  strength. 
Bute  was  a  Tory  in  sentiment,  though  his  Toryism  had  been 
somewhat  modified  by  the  influence  which  had  been  exerted 
upon  him,  by  the  statesmen  with  whom  he  associated  in  the 
household  of  Prince  Frederic,  whose  opinions  more  nearly  re- 
sembled those  of  Lord  Bolingbroke  than  those  of  any  other  British 
statesman.  The  very  day  after  the  accession  of  George  III.,  Bute 
was  sworn  a  member  of  the  Privy  Coimcil.  Shortly  afterward, 
the  Rangership  of  Richmond  Park  was  taken  from  the  Princess 
Amelia,  and  conferred  upon  him.  It  was  very  evident  that  other 
and  much  more  important  promotions  would  soon  follow.  Pitt 
became  aware  that  a  desperate  cabal  was  already  formed  by 
Bute,  for  the  purpose  of  changing  the  whole  policy  of  the  admin- 
istration ;  by  which  means  he  himself  would  be  precipitated  from 
power,  and  the  glory  of  the  nation  tarnished  and  obscured.  Nor 
was  this  disagreeable  apprehension  long  in  being  realized.  Lord 
Bute  soon  infurmed  his  friend  Doddington,  that  Lord  Holder- 
ness,  then  a  member  of  the  Pitt  cabinet,  had  agreed  to  quarrel 


182  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOKGES. 

with  his  associates  and  resign.  The  vacancy  thus  created  was 
to  he  supplied  by  himself;  and  a  favorable  opportunity  was  only 
waited  for  to  put  this  initiatory  step  of  the  intrigue  into  operation. 
In  March,  1761,  the  first  parliament  which  sat  since  the  ac- 
cession of  George  III.  was  prorogued,  after  a  speech  from  the 
throne  in  which  the  young  monarch  commended  and  approved 
all  that  they  had  done.  On  the  very  same  day  the  downfall  of 
that  great  and  powerful  ministry  which  had  made  England  the 
wonder  and  envy  of  the  world,  began  by  the  dismissal  of  Mr. 
Legge,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.*  He  was  personally 
ofFensive  to  the  king  in  consequence  of  his  refusal  to  obey  the 
will  of  the  monarch  while  Prince  of  Wales,  in  not  withdrawing 
himself  as  a  candidate  for  the  knightship  of  the  County  of  South- 
ampton ;  in  order  to  allow  the  substitution  of  a  friend  and  favorite 
of  the  prince.  George  had  not  forgotten  that  act  of  independence, 
and  punished  it  upon  the  earliest  possible  opportunity.  The  fall 
of  Legge  was  followed  two  days  afterward,  by  the  resignation  of 
Lord  Holderness ;  who,  by  a  species  of  bribery  which  covers  his 
memory  with  indelible  disgrace,  sold  his  office  for  the  reversion 
of  the  Wardenship  of  the  Cinque  Ports. 

*  Horace  Walpole,  in  his  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  III.,  (edited  by 
Sir  Denis  de  Marchant,  4  vols.,  London,  1845,)  thus  speaks  of  the  several  persons 
referred  to  on  this  occasion  : 

"  Mr.  Legge — chancellor  of  the  exchequer  : 

"  With  all  his  abilities,  Legge  was  of  a  creeping,  underhand  nature,  and  as- 
pired to  the  lion's  place  by  the  manmwvre  of  the  mole.'"    Vol.  i.,  p.  301. 

"Winchelsea  said  Legge  had  had  more  masters  than  any  man  in  England, 
and  had  never  left  one  with  a  character."    Tb.  p.  30. 

"  Lord  Temple— frivy  seal : 

"  This  shameless  and  malignant  man  worked  in  the  minds  of  successive  fac- 
tions for  nearly  thirty  years  together.  To  relate  them  is  writing  his  life."  (Vol. 
ii.  p.  359.)  "  Nothing  could  be  more  offensive  than  Lord  Temple's  conduct, 
whether  considered  in  a  public  or  private  light.  Opposition  to  his  factious  views 
Beemed  to  let  him  loose  from  all  ties,  all  restraint  oi  principles  ;  and  his  brother 
was  the  object  of  his  jealousy  and  resentme7it."    Vol.  i.,  p.  295. 

"  Lord  Holderness — secretary  of  state  : 

"  Orders  were  suddenly  sent  to  Lord  Holderness  to  give  up  the  seals  of  sec- 
retary of  state :  the  king  adding,  in  discourse,  that  he  had  two  secretaries,  one 
(Mr.  Pitt)  who  would  do  nothing,  and  the  other  (Lord  Holderness)  who  could  do 
nothing  ;  he  would  have  one,  who  both  could  and  would.    This  was  Lord  Bute. 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIED.  183 

The  Earl  of  Bute  was  instantly  promoted  to  the  place  vacated 
by  Lord  Holdcrncss.  He  appointed  Lord  Hawkcsbury  his 
under-secretary.  Lcgge  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Francis  Dash- 
wood,  a  zealous  Tory,  but  one  of  the  most  incompetent  men  who 
ever  occupied  a  place  of  high  trust  and  responsibility.  Thus  an 
effectual  beginning  had  been  made  in  accomplishing  the  entire 
change  of  the  cabinet.  Pitt  still  remained  nominally  at  the  head 
of  affairs  ;  but  it  was  easy  to  see  that,  with  two  determined  and 
hostile  ministers  in  the  cabinet,  the  energy  and  boldness  which 
had  for  some  years  wrought  such  wonders  in  the  fortunes  of 
England,  would  be  shorn  of  a  large  portion  of  their  strength. 
In  addition  to  .this  adverse  influence,  there  were  other  causes 
which  aided  in  the  eventual  downfall  of  the  great  minister ;  and 
substituted  in  his  high  place  a  man  whose  only  recommendation 
was  his  fitness  and  acceptableness  as  the  paramour  of  the  Prin- 
cess Dowager.  Yet  while  the  vigorous  and  powerful  genius  of 
Pitt  was  achieving  brilliant  triumphs  at  one  and  the  same  time 
in  America,  in  India,  and  in  Germany ;  while  he  made  his  coun- 

But,  however  loio  the  talents  of  Lord  Holdemess  deserved  to  be  esti- 
mated, they  did  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  those  of  his  successor."  Vol.  i., 
pp.  42,  43. 

And  again,  when  he  reappeared  as  governor  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  in  1771 : 

"  Lord  Holderness  owed  his  preferment  to  his  insignificance  and  to  his  wife, 
a  lady  of  the  bed-chamber  to  the  queen,  as  she  did  hers  to  her  daughter's  gov- 
erness, whom  the  queen  had  seduced  from  her,  to  the  great  vexation  of  Lady 
Holdemess.  The  governess,  a  French  Protestant,  ingratiated  her  late  mistress 
with  the  queen,  and  her  mistress  soon  became  a  favorite  next  to  the  German 
women."     Vol.  iv.,  p.  314. 

Of  Lord  Bute  who  succeeded  Lord  Holderness,  and  soon  became  first  lord 
of  tlie  treasury,  we  need  not  repeat  any  of  Walpole's  general  opinions,  but  we 
may  extract  the  following  summary  of  his  character  while  minister  : 

"  Success  and  the  tide  of  power  swelled  up  the  weak  bladder  of  the  favorite's 
mind,"  (vol.  i.,  p.  177.)  "  His  countenance  of  Fox  was  but  consonant  to  the 
folly  of  his  character,"  (p.  249.)  "  His  intrigues  to  preserve  power — the  con- 
fusion he  helped  to  throw  into  each  succeeding  system — his  impotent  and  dark 
attempts  to  hang  on  the  wheels  of  government,  wJiich  he  only  clogged — all 
proved  that  neither  virtue  nor  philosophy,  hai  fear — and  fear  only — was  the  im- 
mediate and  precipitate  cause  of  his  retreat.  Yet  let  me  not  be  thought  to 
lament  this  weak  man's  pvsillanimity  ;  had  he  been  firm  to  himself,  there  was 
an  end  of  the  constitution. " 


184  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUR  GEORGES. 

try  the  mistress  of  the  seas  and  the  umpire  of  the  continent ; 
while  the  guns  of  the  Tower  were  reverberating  from  day  to  day 
with  salvos  of  victory ;  while  the  dwellings  of  the  metropolis 
were  frequently  illuminated,  and  French  banners  were  repeatedly 
carried  through  the  streets,  in  honor  of  new  achievements ;  while 
his  resistless  eloquence  resounded  in  the  Commons,  prostrating 
every  opponent  of  his  measures;  kindling  the  enthusiasm, 
stirring  the  blood,  and  summoning  tears  to  the  eyes,  of  the 
patriotic  representatives  of  the  realm,  and  causing  them  to  vote 
heartily  and  unanimously  in  favor  of  those  immense  subsidies 
which  were  necessary  to  the  execution  of  his  vast  measures  of 
offensive  and  defensive  war;  during  all  this  -time  the  more 
thoughtful  portion  of  the  nation  began  to  recover  from  the  delir- 
ium into  which  they  had  been  thrown,  and  to  survey  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  brilliant  but  delusive  picture.  They  discovered 
that  some  of  the  acquisitions  and  triumphs  which  had  been 
achieved,  though  they  were  honorable,  were  also  expensive  and 
unprofitable  ;  that  England  had  been  involved  in  the  defense  of 
the  Hanoverian  provinces  of  the  king ;  that  British  gold  had 
paid  for  the  military  glories  which  clustered  so  thickly  around 
the  brow  of  the  Prussian  hero  ;  that  while  the  whole  attention 
of  the  minister  was  absorbed  in  these  engrossing  events,  pecula- 
tion and  embezzlement  had  crept  into  the  Home  government  to 
a  shameful  and  alarming  extent ;  that  the  National  Debt  had,  in 
one  short  year,  become  so  much  increased,  that  it  would  require 
forty  years  of  prosperous  peace  to  liquidate  the  amount ;  and 
that  eight  million  pounds  had  been  borrowed  by  the  nation 
in  twelve  months.  It  was  the  assured  conviction  of  thousands  of 
the  wisest  Englishmen,  that  triumphs  and  splendors  won  at  such 
a  sacrifice  were  dear  indeed  ;  and  a  sentiment  of  fear  began  to 
mingle  with  that  prodigious  admiration  with  which  the  greatest 
of  English  ministers  was  regarded  by  his  prudent  and  calculating 
countrymen.  To  all  this  must  be  added  the  fact,  that  the  pecu- 
liar doctrines  of  the  great  Tory  party,  of  which  the  chief  were 
a  standing  army,  a  national  debt,  a  septennial  parliament,  and  a 


LIFE  AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   THmD.  185 

government  by  aristocratic  influence,  no  longer  excited  the  ap- 
prehension and  alarm  which  they  formerly  produced. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  a  crisis  unfortunately  oc- 
curred in  the  measures  of  the  administration.  Charles  HI.  was 
now  King  of  Spain  and  the  Indies.  He  hated  England  with  an 
intense  hatred.  He  greatly  envied  the  successes  which  had  fol- 
lowed all  the  measures  of  Pitt.  He  secretly  concluded  a  treaty 
with  France  termed  the  "  Family  Compact,"  the  object  of  which 
was  to  make  war  conjointly  upon  England.  But  war  was  not  to 
be  declared  in  form  until  the  arrival  in  Spain  of  an  expected 
squadron  from  the  Brazils  freighted  with  a  vast  and  prodigious 
treasure.  Pitt  had  received  information  both  of  the  treaty  and 
of  the  treasure  ;  and  he  proposed  in  Council  that  an  armament 
should  be  instantly  dispatched  to  intercept  the  fleet,  while  at  the 
same  time  war  should  be  declared  against  the  confederate 
powers.  In  this  proposition  he  was  supported  by  his  brother- 
in-law,  Earl  Temple ;  but  the  influence  of  Bute  and  his  allies 
predominated,  and  the  inestimable  argosy  amounting  to  several 
hundreds  of  millions  in  bullion  was  safely  disembarked  in  the 
port  of  Cadiz.  Pitt  immediately  resigned  his  place  in  the  cab- 
inet ;  declaring  that  he  would  no  longer  remain  responsible  for 
measures  which  he  was  no  longer  permitted  to  guide. 

Thus  ended  the  most  brilliant  administration  which  England 
ever  enjoyed.  The  Great  Commoner  was  succeeded  by  the  Earl 
of  Egremont,  a  descendant  of  Sir  William  Windham,  and  a 
moderate  Tory.  He  was  a  fair  representative  of  that  class  of 
statesmen  who  were  at  that  moment  winning  their  way,  under 
the  guidance  of  Lord  Bute,  to  supreme  power  in  the  state. 
Lord  Temple  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  also  resigned.  To 
avert  the  unpopularity  which  the  withdrawal  of  Pitt  would  in- 
evitably entail  on  the  court,  large  offers  of  pecuniary  provision 
were  made  him,  and  he  was  even  invited  to  enter  the  peerage. 
The  latter  proposition  he  prudently  refused ;  but  he  was  com- 
pelled by  his  necessities  to  accept  a  pension  of  three  thousand 
pounds  per  annum,  while  his  wife  was  created  a  peeress  in  her 
own  right.    By  this  means  the  popularity  of  the  ex-minister  was 


186  mSTOEY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES. 

preserved,  his  pressing  wants  supplied,  and  the  odium  of  the 
nation  averted  in  some  measure  from  the  king  and  court,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  removal  of  their  idol.*  This  event  was  still  regard- 
ed as  a  national  calamity.  George  III.  received  an  unpleasant 
intimation  of  the  wane  of  his  popularity,  upon  the  Lord  Mayor's 
Day,  which  occurred  shortly  after  these  events.  He  dined  ac- 
cording to  custom  at  the  Guildliall.  The  monarch,  his  young  bride, 
and  his  cabinet,  were  scarcely  noticed ;  while  Pitt's  entrance  was 
greeted  by  long  and  loud  acclamations ;  and  on  the  return  of  the 
royal  party  to  the  palace,  the  carriage  of  Bute  was  hooted  and 
pelted  by  a  great  multitude  of  the  indignant  and  scurrilous  pop- 
ulace, f 

On  the  fourth  of  January,  1762,  war  was  declared  against 
Spain  with  the  usual  formalities ;  and  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisal  were  granted  to  privateers  against  the  enemy.  The 
king  expressed  in  his  address  to  the  Commons  "  his  regret  at  the 
unsuccessful  termination  of  the  late  negotiations  for  peace,  and 
his  resolution  to  prosecute  the  war  in  the  most  effectual  manner, 
till  the  enemies  of  Great  Britain,  moved  by  their  own  losses,  and 
touched  with  the  miseries  of  so  many  nations,  shall  yield  to  her 
equitable  conditions  of  an  honorable  peace."  In  accordance  with 
these  declarations,  the  new  ministry  endeavored  to  emulate  the 
energy  which  had  characterized  the  measures  of  Pitt.  Bute  led 
the  court  party  in  parliament ;  and  he  acquitted  himself  with 
more  success  as  an  orator  than  had  been  anticipated  from  his 
limited  abilities,  and  from  his  want  of  experience.  An  arma- 
ment consisting  of  eighteen  ships  of  the  line  was  sent  under  the 
command  of  Sir  G.  Eodney,  to  the  island  of  Martinique,  one  of 
the  most  valuable  colonies  belonging  to  France.  After  some 
resistance  the  island  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  British. 
The  same  fate  befell  the  islands  of  Grenada,  St.  Lucia,  Tobago, 

*  Similar  offers  of  pecuniary  remuneration  were  made  by  the  King  to  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle ;  but  the  Duke  replied  that  "  if  he  could  no  longer  be  per- 
mitted to  serve  his  country,  he  was  at  least  determined  not  to  be  a  burden  to  it." 
See  Belsham's  Reign  of  George  III.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  45. 

+  Memoir  of  the  Marquis  of  Kockingham  and  his  Contemporaries. 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  THIRD.  187 

and  St.  Vincents.  Another  fleet  subsequently  sailed  under  tho 
orders  of  the  Earl  of  Albemarle,  which,  arriving  off  the  island 
of  Cuba,  disembarked  a  large  body  of  troops  in  the  vicinity  of 
Havana,  the  capital  of  the  island.  The  works  of  that  city  were 
valiantly  defended  by  the  Spanish  governor,  Don  Louis  de  Ve- 
lasco ;  but  in  spite  of  prodigious  exertions  and  unsurpassed 
valor  on  his  part,  he  was  compelled  to  capitulate  in  August 
1762 ;  and  Havana,  together  with  twelve  Spanish  line  of  battle 
ships  then  lying  in  the  harbor,  and  an  immense  treasure,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  conquerors.  Similar  success  followed  the  ex- 
pedition which  was  sent  at  this  crisis  against  Manilla,  the  capital 
of  the  island  of  Luconia,  the  largest  of  the  Philippines,  command- 
ed by  Sir  William  Draper  and  Admiral  Cornish.  A  ransom 
of  four  million  dollars  was  offered  and  accepted,  to  save  the 
city  from  destruction  by  bombardment ;  but  the  port  and  cit- 
adel of  Cavite,  and  all  the  islands  and  fortresses  connected  with 
the  government  of  Manilla,  were  included  in  the  capitulation, 
and  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  British. 

These  triumphs  of  the  armies  and  navies  of  England,  while 
they  filled  the  nation  with  exultation,  did  not  increase  the  pop- 
ularity of  the  young  king,  or  of  his  new  ministry ;  because  it 
was  generally  supposed  that  these  various  expeditions,  which  had 
been  crowned  with  such  remarkable  success,  had  originally  been 
planned  and  suggested  by  the  fallen  minister ;  and  to  him  the 
credit  of  their  fortunate  issue  was  perversely  ascribed.  Further 
changes  ensued  at  this  period  in  the  cabinet.  The  Earl  of 
Hardwicke  retired ;  Lord  Haliflxx  took  the  Seals  ;  and  Mr.  Gren- 
ville  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Admiralty.*     Tlic  Duke  of 

*  Horace  Walpole  describes  this  celebrated  minister  in  the  following  strong 
but  unfair  and  prejudiced  language,  in  his  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  III. : 

"  Mr.  Grenville  had  hitherto  been  known  but  as  a  fatiguing  orator  and  inde- 
fatigable drudge,  more  likely  to  disgust  than  to  offend.  Beneath  this  useful,  un- 
promising outside  lay  lurking  great  abilities ;  courage  so  confounded  with 
obstinacy  that  there  was  no  drawing  a  line  between  them  —  good  inten- 
tions to  the  public  without  one  great  view — much  economy  for  that  public, 
which,  in  truth,  was  the  whole  amount  of  his  good  intentions — excessive  rapa- 
ciousness  and  parsimony  in  himself— e>y?/ii^e  self-conceit,  implacability  of  temper. 


188  HISTOKT   OF   THE   FOUK   GE0EGE8. 

Grafton,  Lord  Eavensworth,  and  Lord  Ashburnhana  ranged 
themselves  on  the  side  of  the  opposition,  and  served  to  swell  the 
strength  of  that  formidable  combination  which  was  soon  to  rise, 
resist,  and  overwhelm  the  power  of  the  favorite  of  the  king,  and 
of  his  scandalous  mother,  the  Princess  Dowager. 

and  a  total  want  of  principle.  His  ingratitude  to  his  benefactor,  Bute,  and  his 
reproaching  Mr.  Pitt,  were  but  too  often  paralleled  by  the  crimes  of  other  men ; 
but  scarce  any  man  ever  wore  in  his  face  such  outward  and  visible  marks  of  the 
hollow,  cruel,  and  rotten  heart  within."     Vol.  iv.,  p.  271. 

"  The  reversion  of  Lord  Temple's  estate  could  make  even  the  inflexible 
Grenville  stoop  ;  and  if  his  acrimonious  heart  was  obliged  to  pardon  his  brother 
[Lord  Temple],  it  was  indemnified  hj  revenue  on  his  sister's  husband  [Mr.  PittJ. " 
Vol.  u.,  p.  174. 

Lord  Egreraont — secretary  of  state  : 
"  was  a  composition  of  pride,  ill-nature,  avarice  and  strict  good  breeding,  with 
such  infirmity  of  frame  that  he  could  not  speak  truth  on  the  most  trivial  occasion." 

The  same  spirit  is  exhibited  by  Walpole  in  the  following  strictures  on  other 
members  of  this  cabinet : 

"  Lords  Gower,  {Lord  CJiamberlain,  afterwards  Loi-d  President,)  'Weymouth, 
{Secretary  of  State,)  and  Sandwich,  {First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,)— ^W  had  parts, 
and  never  used  them  to  any  good  or  creditable  purpose.  The  first  had  spirit 
enough  to  attempt  any  crime;  the  other  two,  though  notorious  cowards,  were 
equally  fitted  to  serve  a  prosperous  court.  And  Sandwich  had  a  predilection  to 
guilt,  if  he  could  couple  it  with  artifice  and  treachery  {ib.)  Weymouth  {Secretary 
of  State)  neither  had  nor  affected  any  solid  virtue.  He  was  too  proud  to  court 
the  people,  and  too  mean  not  to  choose  to  owe  his  preferments  to  the  favor  of 
the  court  or  the  cabals  of  faction.  He  wasted  the  whole  night  in  drinking,  and 
the  morning  in  sleep,  even  when  secretary  of  state.  No  kind  of  principle  en- 
tered into  his  plan  or  practice,  nor  shame  for  want  of  it.  His  vanity  made  him 
trust  that  his  abilities,  by  making  him  necessary,  could  reconcile  intrigue  and 
inactivity.  His  timidity  was  womanish,  and  the  only  thing  he  did  not  fear  was 
the  ill-opinion  of  mankind."    Vol.  iv.,  p.  240. 


CHAPTEE   II. 

Birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales— Policy  of  the  Bute  Cabinet— Treaty  of  Peace  with  Spain 
—Dissatisfaction  of  the  Nation— Eloquence  of  Pitt  and  Fox- Resignation  of  Lord 
Bute— His  Great  Unpopularity— George  Grenville  becomes  Premier— John  Wilkes 
-His  Singular  Character— His  Wit— His  Contest  with  the  Court— His  Expulsion 
from  Parliament— His  Arrest  for  Libel— Ifis  "  Essay  on  Woman  "—His  Intrepidity 
— His  ultimate  Triumph  over  the  Ministers. 

On  the  12th  of  August,  1762,  the  monarch  and  nation  were  grat- 
ified by  the  birth  of  an  heir  to  the  throne.  The  infant  prince 
was  he  who  afterward  became  the  magnificent  and  miserable 
George  IV.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  alone  was  present 
on  the  occasion,  and  the  child  was  baptized  a  few  days  afterward 
by  that  prelate,  whom  Horace  Walpole  wittily  termed  "  the 
Eight  Rev.  Midwife  Thomas  Seeker."  *  The  coronation  of  the 
king  had  been  performed  with  great  pomp  and  splendor  on  the 
22d  of  September  preceding.  A  singular  and  ominous  incident 
occurred  on  this  occasion.  As  the  king  was  moving  about  with 
the  crown  on  his  head,  the  great  diamond  which  formed  its  chief 
and  most  valuable  ornament  fell  to  the  ground,  and  was  not  re- 

*  This  singular  and  witty  vnriter  thus  describes  the  incidents  connected  with 
the  ceremony : 

"  Our  next  monarch  was  christened  last  night,  George  Augustus  Frederick. 
The  Princess  (Dowager  of  Wales),  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  and  the  Duke  of 
Mecklenburgh,  sponsors.  The  queen's  bed,  magnificent,  and  they  say,  in  taste, 
was  placed  in  the  drawing-room,  though  she  is  not  to  see  company  in  form,  yet 
it  looks  as  if  they  had  intended  people  should  have  been  there,  as  all  who  pre- 
sented themselves  were  admitted,  which  were  very  few,  for  it  had  not  been  no- 
tified. I  suppose  to  prevent  too  great  a  crowd ;  all  I  have  heard  named,  beside 
those  in  waiting,  were  the  Duchess  of  Queensberry,  Lady  Dalkeith,  Mrs.  Gren- 
ville, and  about  four  other  ladies."    See  Walpole's  Letters,  dx. 


190  mSTOEY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOKGES. 

covered  without  great  difficulty.  That  diamond  might  well  be 
supposed  to  represent  the  jewel  of  America,  which  was  soon 
destined  to  drop  from  the  chaplet  of  his  possessions.  A  more 
pleasing  incident  was  the  petition  of  the  king  that,  while  par- 
taking the  sacrament,  he  might  be  allowed  to  remove  the  diadem 
from  his  head  as  an  indication  of  his  piety  and  humility.  Tliis 
act  would  have  been  contrary  to  the  established  ceremonial  of 
the  occasion.  The  bishops  however  consulted ;  were  greatly  em- 
barassed  by  the  demand  of  the  king ;  yet  they  finally  concluded 
that  it  might  be  complied  Avith  without  any  detriment  to  the 
nation.  A  similar  request  on  the  part  of  the  queen  was  refused, 
in  consequence  of  the  difficulty  of  removing  the  crown  from  her 
head  without  the  assistance  of  her  dressers.  The  various  cer- 
emonies of  this  occasion  were  exceedingly  tedious,  and  darkness 
descended  upon  the  gorgeous  scene  before  they  were  completed. 
The  magnificent  Hall  of  Westminster  was  crowded  by  a  vast 
and  admiring  multitude ;  and  never  before  had  the  ancient  and 
opulent  nobility  of  England  shone  with  more  splendor.  Among 
the  innumerable  crowd,  it  was  afterward  reported,  was  the  exiled 
Pretender,  who  ventured  thither  incognito  to  witness  a  gorgeous 
ceremonial  in  which  he  should  have  been,  according  to  the  opin- 
ions of  a  portion  of  the  nation,  the  principal  personage.  It  is 
further  said  that  the  fallen  prince  was  recognized  by  a  nobleman ; 
that  he  assured  him  that  "  he  was  present  merely  out  of  curios- 
ity, and  that  the  man  who  was  the  object  of  all  that  pomp  and 
splendor  was  the  one  whom  least  he  envied."  The  festivities 
continued  in  the  capital  during  several  days  ;  the  starving  poets 
sang  in  fulsome  numbers  the  glories  of  the  youthful  sovereign ; 
and  the  nation  seemed  to  have  become  a  temporary  model  of 
satisfied  amiability.  A  few  discontents  only,  unwilling  to  ap- 
preciate the  general  joy,  growled  out  their  intense  disgust  at  the 
"  petticoat  government "  and  the  power  of  the  licentious  favorite, 
wliich  then  ruled  the  monarch  and  his  cabinet.  But  the  king 
was  either  incapable  of  perceiving  the  relation  which  had  long 
subsisted  between  his  mother  and  Lord  Bute ;  or  he  was  indiffer- 
ent to  the  subject.     If  the  former  were  the  true  state  of  the  case, 


LITE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  THIKD.  191 

he  furnished  another  evidence  of  the  fact  that  those  who  are 
most  deeply  injured  and  disgraced  by  family  outrages  or  dis- 
honors, are  oftentimes  the  last  to  discover  the  existence  of  the 
calamity  which  has  befallen  them. 

It  now  became  the  policy  of  the  Bute  cabinet  to  conclude  the 
war  by  a  favorable  peace.  The  prime  minister  thought  it  less 
difficult  to  retain  the  slender  share  of  popularity  which  he  pos- 
sessed amid  the  tranquil  scenes  which  a  general  amity  would 
produce,  than  amid  the  trying  vicissitudes  of  war.  He  accord- 
ingly gave  secret  intimations  to  the  enemy  that  the  renewal  of 
negotiations  for  peace  would  be  acceptable  to  the  British  govern- 
ment ;  and  the  King  of  Sardinia  was  solicited  to  act  as  mediator 
between  the  hostile  powers.  The  courts  of  France  and  Spain 
were  not  unwilling  to  terminate  a  war  in  which  the  arms  of 
Britain  had  been  covered  with  glory,  and  in  which  conquest 
after  conquest  had  followed  in  the  wake  of  her  victories.  The 
steps  of  conciliation  were  so  quickly  taken  that  preliminaries  of 
peace  were  signed  and  interchanged  at  Fontainebleau,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1762,  between  the  representatives  of  England,  France,  Spain 
and  Portugal. 

The  proposed  peace  was  utterly  distasteful  to  the  nation. 
They  were  elated  by  the  victories  which  their  arms  had  achieved, 
and  the  most  sanguine  hopes  had  been  entertained  in  regard 
to  the  extent  and  splendor  of  future  triumphs.  They  indulged 
in  golden  dreams  in  reference  to  the  possession  of  the  realms  of 
Mexico  and  Peru,  whose  vast  treasures  and  whose  valuable  ter- 
ritories they  hoped  to  see  united  to  the  British  crown.  Not- 
withstanding this  state  of  the  public  mind,  Bute  and  his  confed- 
erates persisted  in  completing  the  treaty.  On  the  25th  of  No- 
vember parliament  met,  and  the  king  informed  them  in  a  speech 
from  the  throne  that  the  arrangements  for  peace  had  all  been 
agreed  upon,  and  only  awaited  the  sanction  of  the  Legislature, 
for  their  final  and  complete  adoption. 

The  debate  which  ensued  was  one  of  the  most  violent  which 
ever  shook  the  British  parliament.  Lord  Bute  commenced  the 
deliberations  by  setting  forth  in  a  clear  and  accurate  manner 


192  HISTOKY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

the  various  provisions  of  the  treaty  -svhich  had  been  adopted. 
These  provisions  were  as  follows  :  The  entire  province  of  Canada 
was  ceded  to  the  English ;  together  with  all  that  portion  of  Louis- 
iana which  lay  to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Cape  Breton, 
and  all  the  islands  which  studded  the  gulf  and  river  of  St.  Law- 
rence. In  the  West  Indies,  the  islands  of  Grenada,  the  Gren- 
adines, Dominique,  St.  Vincent,  and  Tobago  were  also  guaran- 
teed to  Britain.  In  Africa  they  were  to  possess  Senegal,  and  in 
the  East  Indies,  the  coasts  of  Coromandel.  The  Ji'rench  monarch 
also  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  British  in  Bengal,  in 
the  Camatic  and  in  the  Decan ;  he  agreed  to  restore  Minorca, 
and  demolish  the  fortifications  and  harbor  of  Dunkirk  ;  he  stipu- 
lated that  Hanover  and  Hesse,  and  the  fortresses  of  Cleves, 
Nesil  and  Guildiers  should  be  evacuated  by  the  French  troops 
which  at  that  time  occupied  them.  The  Spanish  monarch  guar- 
anteed to  England  the  full  possession  of  the  Eastern  and  West- 
em  Floridas,  and  all  the  Spanish  possessions  on  the  North 
American  Continent  to  the  east  and  south-east  of  the  Mississippi. 
In  return  for  all  these  vast  and  valuable  concessions,  the  British 
cabinet  promised  to  transfer  to  Erance  the  island  of  Belleisle ; 
in  Africa,  the  island  of  Goree ;  in  the  West  Indies,  Guadaloupe, 
Martinique,  and  St.  Lucia  ;  in  the  East  Indies,  Pondicherry  and 
Chandernagore,  the  islands  of  St.  Pierre  and  Miguelon ;  while 
Cuba,  the  Havana,  and  the  Manillas  were  to  be  restored  to  the 
Spanish  monarch.  The  terms  of  this  treaty  were  in  themselves 
by  no  means  dishonorable  or  disadvantageous  to  the  British 
nation. 

But  it  was  a  sufficient  objection  to  this  treaty,  both  with  the 
people  and  with  the  opposition,  that  it  had  been  negotiated  by 
the  Bute  cabinet.  In  order  to  carry  the  bill  which  approved  it, 
it  became  necessary  for  the  administration  to  put  forth  pro- 
digious exertions.  After  Lord  Bute  had  set  forth  the  provisions 
of  the  treaty  at  length,  he  was  answered  and  defended  by  all  the 
great  orators  who  flourished  at  that  time  in  parliament.  Some 
of  these  had  been  bought  over  by  bribes  which  even  Walpole 
himself  would  not  have  ventured  to  offer.     Hundreds  of  mem- 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   THIRD.  193 

bers  had  been  secretly  closeted  with  Henry  Fox,  the  able  and 
unscrupulous  Paymaster  of  the  Forces ;  and  had  departed  from 
his  inner  cabinet  carrying  in  their  pockets  the  exorbitant  prices 
at  which  they  had  sold  their  integrity.  It  has  been  asserted  that 
in  this  way  the  minister  disbursed  twenty-five  thousand  pounds 
in  a  single  morning.  Every  resource  of  the  government  was 
employed  to  muster  influence,  eloquence  and  votes,  on  this  mo- 
mentous occasion,  in  support  of  the  administration.  When 
therefore  the  debate  progressed,  some  prominent  members  sup- 
ported the  treaty  from  whom  a  different  course  of  action  had 
been  anticipated.  But  still  the  conflict  was  manfully  maintained 
by  the  opposition.  Their  chief  reliance  was  on  the  influence  and 
eloquence  of  Pitt.  The  discussion  had  continued  several  days,  when 
the  ex-minister,  who  was  still  suffering  under  a  severe  attack  of 
gout,  rose  from  his  bed,  had  his  limbs  swathed  in  heavy  wrap- 
pings of  flannel,  and  with  crutch  in  hand  reached  the  chair  which 
usually  conveyed  him  to  the  house.  His  progress  thither  was 
accompanied  by  the  shouts  and  acclamations  of  a  great  multitude. 
Having  arrived,  he  was  carried  by  his  attendants  into  the  house 
and  placed  within  the  bar.  As  may  well  be  supposed,  his  ap- 
pearance attracted  universal  attention ;  for  he  already  began  to 
be  but  the  shadow  of  his  former  magnificent  self  At  the  first 
opportunity  he  rose  to  speak.  He  declaimed  three  hours  and  a 
half  against  the  treaty.  But  his  declamation  on  this  occasion 
was  comparatively  feeble,' and  showed  little  resemblance  to  the 
overwhelming  and  powerful  rhetoric  of  his  prime.  His  voice 
was  feeble,  and  several  times  he  Avas  compelled  to  stop  and  have 
recourse  to  cordials.  At  length  he  sat  down,  and  every  hearer 
was  convinced  that  the  oratorical  glory  of  the  Great  Commoner 
had  passed  away  for  ever. 

His  great  rival  Henry  Fox  then  rose  to  reply.  He  answered 
the  arguments  of  Pitt  in  a  speech  of  two  hours'  duration,  and  clearly 
demonstrated  the  propriety,  the  profitableness,  and  the  necessity 
of  the  treaty.  Never  had  his  manly  declamation  and  vigorous, 
compact  logic  been  better  exhibited  than  on  this  occasion  ;  and 
after  he  had  concluded,  the  vote  was  taken.  The  long  labors  and 
9 


194:  HISTOKY   OF   THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

skilful  tactics  of  the  ministry  were  rewarded  by  a  signal  vic- 
tory.    The  treaty  was  sustained  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

The  king,  the  court,  the  cabinet  and  their  partisans,  all  ex- 
hibited the  utmost  exultation.  George  III.  realized  in  this  in- 
stance the  fulfilment  of  the  great  principle  which  guided  him, 
sometimes  wisely  and  sometimes  blindly,  throughout  his  whole 
administration ;  he  had  preserved  the  integrity  of  the  empire. 
The  Princess  Dowasrer  exclaimed  as  soon  as  she  heard  the  news : 
"  Now  indeed  my  son  is  really  king."  It  was  generally  sup- 
posed that  this  triumph  would  secure  to  the  favorite  minister  a 
long  tenure  of  undisturbed  possession  of  power.  But  the  very 
next  measure  proposed  by  the  cabinet,  destroyed  the  popularity 
which  the  prestige  of  this  victory  had  gained  them.  The  ex- 
penses of  the  war  had  created  an  immense  arrear  of  debt.  It 
was  necessary  to  devise  some  new  method  for  reducing  the 
interest ;  and  among  the  expedients  proposed  by  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  was  a  tax  of  four  shillings  upon  every  hogs- 
head of  cider,  to  be  paid  by  the  manufacturer.  The  opposition 
eagerly  seized  this  proposition  to  assail  the  ministry.  The 
Cider-Land,  especially  Herefordshire  and  Worcestershire,  were 
particularly  incensed  by  this  attack  upon  their  peculiar  interests. 
The  city  of  London  presented  a  petition  against  the  bill  at  the 
bar  of  the  House  of  Commons.  But  notwithstanding  these  and 
other  indications  of  hostility  to  the  measure,  the  tax  was  im- 
posed ;  though  in  the  House  of  Lord?  forty -three  peers  divided 
against  it.  This  was  destined  to  be  the  last  triumph  of  the  Bute 
cabinet ;  to  achieve  which,  the  same  extreme  processes  of  bribery 
and  corruption  had  been  adopted,  which  had  been  essential  to  the 
attainment  of  all  the  preceding  triumphs  of  that  detested  min- 
ister. The  whole  nation  was  suddenly  astounded,  immediately 
after  this  event,  with  the  news  that  Lord  Bute  had  resigned. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  discover  the  reason  which  led  to  this  un- 
expected result.  It  lies  upon  the  surface,  although  the  advocates 
of  the  fallen  favorite  ascribed  many  other  causes  for  it  than  the 
real  one.  They  indeed  asserted  that  all  his  political  purposes 
had  been  accomplished ;    and  that  by  voluntarily  retiring   to 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE  TIIIKD.  195 

private  life  he  was  willing  to  give  his  enemies  an  opportunity  to 
prove  and  punish  any  crimes  which  they  might  lay  to  his  charge. 
This  was  more  plausible  and  complimentary  than  true,  Bute 
was  influenced  by  much  more  selfish  motives  in  his  retirement. 
He  could  not  but  be  conscious  that  he  had  become  the  object  of 
the  detestation  of  the  nation.  He  was  the  favorite  lover  of  the 
Princess  Dowager,  and  he  was  despised  as  all  such  creatures  de- 
serve to  be.  He  was  a  Scotchman;  and  at  that  time  the  preju- 
dice which  existed  in  England  against  the  Scotch,  resembled  in  in- 
tensity and  unreasonableness  that  which  existed  during  the  reign  of 
William  III.  against  the  Dutch ;  and  the  promotion  of  Scotchmen 
to  places  of  emolument  and  trust  by  the  minister  had  increased  the 
popular  hatred  against  their  name  and  nation.  During  Bute's 
administration,  public  caricatures,  libels  and  pasquinades  had  been 
carried  to  an  extreme  of  audacity  which  had  never  before  been 
seen  in  England.  The  uniform  symbol  by  which  he  was  known 
and  ridiculed  was  a  great  jack-boot,  which  was  usually  accom- 
panied by  a  petticoat ;  and  these  were  often  hung  upon  a  gallows, 
or  consigned  to  the  flames.  Previous  to  the  year  1763,  all  po- 
litical libellers  confined  themselves  to  giving  the  initials  of  the 
names  of  their  unfortunate  victims.  During  the  hated  supremacy 
of  Bute,  the  names  of  the  monarch,  of  his  amorous  mother,  of 
her  favorite  minister,  and  of  his  chief  supporters  were  boldly  and 
unscrupulously  appended  to  the  most  abusive  and  obnoxious 
strictures.*  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  all  this  was  very 
distasteful  to  a  man  who  had  lived  until  his  forty-eighth  year  in 
the  enjoyment  of  undisturbed  repose  and  of  unmingled  respect. 
He  was  doubtless  appalled  at  the  overwhelming  torrent  of  bitter 
invective  and  merciless  ridicule  which  was  directed  upon  his 
head.  He  found  himself  suddenly  rendered  the  most  unpopular 
minister  who  had  ever  directed  the  destinies  of  England.  He 
could  not  possibly  foresee  where  all  this  hostility  miglit  end. 
If  he  persisted  in  his  line  of  policy,  it  might  conduct  him  to  an  im- 
peachment and  even  to  the  scaffold.    So  far  as  the  gratification  of 

*  A  curious  collection  of  the  libels  and  caricatures  of  the  day  will  be  found  in 
"  Wright's  History  of  England  under  the  House  of  Hanover,"  Vol.  i.,  passim. 


196  HISTOET   OF  THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

his  ambition  was  concerned,  he  had  doubtless  become  fully  satia- 
ted with  the  turbulent  and  ignominious  splendors  of  place  and 
power.  He  had  ascended  the  pinnacle  of  human  greatness  ;  he 
had  seated  himself  upon  its  most  exalted  eminence ;  and  he  had 
found  that,  at  that  dizzy  elevation,  tempests  raged  and  whirl- 
winds blew  around  him  with  a  degree  of  fearful  violence  utterly 
unknown  in  the  calmer  regions  below.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at,  therefore,  that  he  hastened  to  descend  from  a  position,  the 
dangers  and  miseries  of  which,  could  only  be  conceived  of  by 
those  who  had  practically  experienced  them. 

George  Grenville  succeeded  to  the  post  of  prime  minister. 
This  statesman  was  the  brother  of  Lord  Temple,  and  the  brother- 
in-law  of  Pitt.  He  was  a  man  of  narrow  intellect,  yet  indus- 
trious, energetic,  and  perfectly  at  home  amid  the  most  intricate 
details  of  business.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  all  the  re- 
sources and  the  finances  of  the  empire.  He  was  also  master  of 
the  whole  system  of  the  orders  and  privileges  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  His  speeches,  though  always  tedious  and  dull,  were 
often  instructive,  learned,  and  impressive.  He  was  honest,  but 
at  the  same  time  parsimonious  and  cautious.  The  same  narrow 
and  prudent  thrift  which  characterized  his  private  dealings, 
marked  all  his  public  measures.  He  was  as  unpopular  with  the 
multitude  as  misers  generally  are  ;  yet  he  was  as  indifferent  to 
public  censure  as  was  the  most  obscure  and  hardened  among 
them.  Having  attained  the  first  place  in  the  administration,  his 
grasping  nature  soon  rendered  him  as  avaricious  of  power  as  he 
had  ever  been  of  money. 

An  attempt  was  made  at  this  time  by  the  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land to  unite  some  of  the  discordant  elements  which  warred 
within  the  bosom  of  the  state,  and  centre  them  harmoniously  in 
the  administration.  A  special  effort  was  made  to  induce  Pitt  to 
return  to  office.  These  exertions  ended  in  complete  failure  ;  and 
that  failure  greatly  increased  the  intensity  of  party  rage.  The 
press  teemed  with  the  most  furious  attacks  on  the  government ; 
and  among  the  most  offensive  of  all  these,  was  a  journal  printed 
and  published  by  John  Wilkes  termed  the  North  Briton.     Each 


LITE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   THLRD.  197 

mimber  of  this  vile  sheet  was  more  scurrilous  than  its  predeces- 
sor ;  until  at  length  the  forty-fifth  number  contained  a  personal 
and  outrageous  attack  upon  the  king,  which  the  court  and  the 
ministry  thought  it  necessary  to  punish  by  a  judicial  proceeding. 
A  general  warrant  was  issued  under  the  seal  of  Lord  Halifax  for 
the  arrest  of  John  Wilkes  under  the  charge  of  uttering  a  se- 
ditious libel ;  and  he  was  arrested  late  at  night  at  his  residence, 
on  the  29th  of  April,  1763. 

The  character  and  history  of  this  man,  who  was  destined  to 
play  so  distinguished  a  part  in  English  history,  has  little  to 
commend  him  to  the  admiration  of  his  countrymen  or  of  pos- 
terity. 11^  was  born  at  London  in  1727,  and  was  the  son  of  a 
respectable  distiller.  By  a  course  of  unexampled  profligacy  he 
had  at  an  early  age  ruined  his  fortune  and  his  reputation.  He 
had  received  a  thorough  education,  he  possessed  agreeable  man- 
ners, and  had  married  in  1749  an  heiress  named  Mead,  much 
older  than  himself,  from  whom  he  afterward  separated.  He  was 
the  habitue  of  all  the  fashionable  houses  of  dissipation  in  the 
capital.  He  associated  with  men  of  fortune,  without  possessing 
the  necessary  means  to  indulge  in  their  expensive  pleasures. 
His  wit  was  remarkable  for  its  originality  and  its  coarseness ; 
and  his  admirable  convivial  qualities  constantly  led  him  into 
scenes  of  ruinous  and  excessive  dissoluteness.  To  repair  his 
broken  fortunes  he  had  applied  to  the  ministers  on  several  occa- 
sions for  promotion  to  office.  He  besought  Pitt,  when  in  power, 
to  bestow  upon  him  a  seat  at  the  Board  of  Trade.  He  afterward 
endeavored  to  obtain  from  Lord  Bute,  the  appointment  of  am- 
bassador to  Constantinople.  Later  still,  his  application  for  the 
post  of  Governor  of  Canada  was  pressed  upon  Grenville  with 
great  earnestness.  In  all  these  ambitious  schemes  he  met  with 
a  complete  and  ignominious  failure ;  a  result  which  was  owing 
chiefly  to  the  desperate  degradation  of  his  private  character.  In 
his  person  he  was  so  hideously  ugly,  that  no  caricaturist  could  do 
justice  to  his  horrible  squint  and  his  demoniacal  grin.  In  spite 
of  all  these  disadvantages,  he  could  boast  of  many  conquests  in 
the  field  of  amorous  adventure.     Having  been  defeated  in  every 


198  niSTOKY   OF  THE   FOTJE   GEOKGES. 

other  effort,  he  obtained  at  length  a  seat  in  parliament,  and  sat 
for  the  borough  of  Aylesbury.  But  he  broke  down  utterly  as 
an  orator,  and  was  insignificant  and  unnoticed  among  the  great 
statesmen  of  the  nation.  In  two  capacities  alone  could  this  des- 
perate and  shameless  adventurer  excel.  He  ranked  as  the  most 
unbridled,  profane,  and  agreeable  rake  in  the  metropolis.  He 
was  also  able  to  render  himself  the  most  dangerous  and  formi- 
dable libeller  in  the  country,  by  using  and  abusing  the  then  un- 
defined and  uncertain  license  of  the  press.  The  former  bad  pre- 
eminence he  already  possessed  ;  and  he  entertained  no  fears  that 
that  preeminence  would  be  endangered  by  any  successful  rival. 
He  therefore  determined  at  this  crisis  to  try  what  his  other,  and 
scarcely  more  respectable  forte,  might  accomplish  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  ruined  interests,  and  for  the  elevation  of  his 
dishonored  name.  This  was  the  purpose  of  the  establishment  of 
the  North  Briton  Newspaper,  a  number  of  which  caused  the 
issue  of  the  warrant  against  his  person. 

The  only  species  of  talent  which  Wilkes  possessed  was  that 
of  sarcastic  and  ribald  wit.  In  this  questionable  field  he  was 
unrivalled ;  and  some  of  his  repartees  which  have  escaped 
oblivion  indicate  a  high  degree  of  ability.  One  or  two  instances 
will  clearly  establish  this  position.  Lord  Sandwich  inquired  of 
him  contemptuously,  whether  he  thought  he  should  die  by  the 
halter,  or  by  a  certain  disease.  He  instantly  replied  :  "  That  de- 
pends upon  whether  I  embrace  your  Lordship's  principles  or 
your  mistress."  When  the  profane,  selfish,  and  unprincipled 
Lord  Thurlow  exclaimed  in  parliament,  for  the  purpose  of  win- 
ning the  favor  of  the  court :  "  If  I  forget  my  sovereign  may  my 
God  forget  me  !  "  Wilkes,  who  was  seated  near  him  answered, 
with  that  horrid  squint  and  demoniac  grin  directed  toward  him  . 
"  Forget  you  ?  No,  he  will  see  you  damned  first."  The  usual 
conversation  of  this  unequalled  political  pimp  was  made  up  of 
blasphemy,  indecency,  and  ribaldry.  Every  thing  which  he  said 
and  did  partook  of  this  foul  character.  Thus  when  writing  to  Ju- 
nius, he  declared  that  the  private  letters  of  the  Great  Unknown 
"  stirred  up  his  spirits  like  a  kiss  from  Chloe."  * 

*  Woodfall's  Junius,  i.,  325. 


LIFE  AI^^D  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  THIKD.  199 

Among  the  many  vices  of  Wilkes  cowardice  could  not  he 
numbered.  His  arrest  furnished  him  with  a  most  favorable  op- 
portunity for  commencing,  on  a  grand  scale,  the  role  of  a  dem- 
agogue, and  defender  of  the  rights  of  the  press  and  of  the  people. 
Accordingly,  immediately  after  his  committal  to  the  Tower,  he 
made  application  by  counsel  to  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for 
a  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus.  The  "svrit  was  granted,  directed  to  the 
constable  of  the  tower,  and  made  returnable  the  next  day  in 
Westminster  Hall.  After  the  pleadings  were  filed  and  argu- 
ment made  on  both  sides,  the  judges  held  the  case  under  advise- 
ment until  the  sixth  of  May.  On  that  day  the  Lord  Chief  Jus- 
tice Pratt,  afterwards  Lord  Camden,  gave  the  opinion  of  the 
court,  to  the  effect  that  the  commitment  of  Wilkes  was  legal ; 
that  the  warrant  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  however,  was  not  su- 
perior in  force  to  that  of  a  justice  of  the  peace;  that  it  was 
not  necessary  to  specify  in  the  warrant  the  particular  passages 
in  the  North  Briton  which  contained  the  alleged  libel ;  and  that 
the  privilege  of  parliament  was  violated  in  the  arrest  of  the 
person  of  the  defendant,  at  that  time  a  member  of  it.  The  Chief 
Justice  further  held  that  the  privilege  of  Parliament  could  only 
be  forfeited  by  the  crimes  of  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the 
peace.  Wilkes  was  then  discharged  from  arrest ;  but  he  was 
forthwith  prosecuted  by  the  Attorney-General,  and  dismissed 
from  his  command  as  colonel  of  the  Buckinghamshire  militia. 

These  incidents  were  but  the  beginning  of  troubles.  Wilkes 
refused  to  make  an  answer  to  the  information  fdcd  against  him, 
by  the  king's  Attorney-General ;  and  when  Parliament  convened 
in  November,  1763,  he  prepared  to  enter  a  formal  complaint  for 
the  breach  of  privilege  made  in  his  person.  He  was  anticipated 
in  this  step  by  the  promptness  of  Mr.  Grenville,  who  informed 
the  House  that  he  had  a  message  to  deliver  from  the  king.  The 
message  was  immediately  read.  It  set  forth  that  his  majesty 
having  received  information  that  Wilkes,  a  member  of  the 
House,  was  the  author  of  a  seditious  and  dangerous  libel,  had 
caused  him  to  be  apprehended  therefor ;  that  he  had  been  dis- 
charged by  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  on  the  ground  of  his 


200  HISTORY   OF  THE  FOUR   GEORGES. 

privilege  as  a  member  of  Parliament ;  and  that  the  king,  desirous 
that  public  justice  should  not  thus  be  eluded,  had  ordered  all  the 
papers  relating  to  the  matter  to  be  laid  on  the  table  of  the  House, 
and  he  invited  their  attention  to  the  subject.  A  violent  de- 
bate ensued.  The  principle  for  which  Wilkes  contended  found 
many  able  advocates  among  the  members.  At  last,  however, 
a  vote  being  taken,  a  great  majority  decided  that  number  Forty- 
Five  of  the  North  Briton  contained  a  false,  scandalous,  and  ma- 
licious libel,  manifestly  tending  to  alienate  the  affections  of  the 
people  from  his  Majesty,  and  excite  them  to  traitorous  insurrec- 
tions. They  further  ordered  the  paper  to  be  burnt  by  the  com- 
mon hangman. 

Wilkes  was  not  intimidated  in  the  least  by  these  measures. 
He  boldly  brought  forward  his  complaint  of  breach  of  privilege 
by  the  imprisonment  of  his  person,  and  the  seizure  of  his  papers. 
Before  this  subject  could  be  discussed  by  the  House,  Wilkes  was 
dangerously  wounded  in  a  duel  with  Mr.  Martin,  a  member  for 
Camelford  ;  and  the  matter  was  postponed  till  his  recovery.  On 
the  23d  of  November  the  king's  message  was  taken  into  consid- 
eration. The  House  resolved,  after  a  full  discussion,  by  a  major- 
ity of  a  hundred  and  twenty -five  votes,  that  the  privilege  of  par- 
liament did  not  extend  to  a  case  of  libel ;  and  the  peers  addi-essed 
a  memorial  to  his  majesty  setting  forth  their  detestation  of  the 
arts  of  the  demagogue,  and  their  devotion  to  his  person.  Among 
the  few  eminent  members  who  opposed  these  decisions  was  Pitt ; 
who  contended  that  they  tended  to  abridge  the  freedom  and  in- 
dependence of  parliament,  by  subjecting  every  member  who  did 
not  vote  with  the  minister  to  the  dread  of  imprisonment. 

When  the  day  arrived  for  the  public  burning  of  Wilkes'  pa- 
per, a  great  riot  occurred ;  the  paper  was  rescued  from  the  hands 
of  the  hangman ;  the  peace  ofBcers  were  attacked ;  a  jack-boot 
and  petticoat  were  committed  to  the  flames ;  and  the  sherifls 
placed  in  great  danger  of  their  lives.  The  parliament  imme- 
diately resolved  that  the  rioters  should  be  punished  as  disturbers 
of  the  peace ;  that  their  conduct  was  dangerous  to  public  liberty ; 
and  that  the  sheriffs  and  officers  deserved  the  thanks  of  the  coun- 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOEGE  THE  THIED.  201 

try.      Notwithstanding  all  this   adverse   influence,  Wilkes   re- 
covered damages  to  the  amount  of  a  thousand  pounds  against 
Lord  Halifax  for  the  seizure  of  his  papers,  after  a  trial  of  fifteen 
hours'  duration.     Chief  Justice  Pratt  presided,  and  in  his  charge 
to  the  jury  he  instructed  them  that  general  warrants,  such  as 
that  issued  in  the  first  instance  against  Wilkes,  were  illegal.     On 
the  other  hand  Parliament  decreed,  on  the  29th  of  January,  1764, 
after  a  vehement  and  protracted  debate,  that  Wilkes  should  be 
expelled  from  his  seat  in  the  House.     On  the  same  day  a  singular 
development  was  made  in  the  House  of  Peers.     The  Earl  of 
Sandwich  rose  and  informed  the  members  that  John  Wilkes  had 
outraged  religion  and  decency  by  printing  a  book  of  the  most 
scandalous  and  licentious  character,  entitled  an  Essay  on  Woman  ; 
to  which  notes  had  been  appended  which  were  falsely  ascribed  to 
a  learned  and  right  reverend  prelate,  Warburton,  Bishop  of 
Gloucester,     The  facts  in  reference  to  this  book  were  curious. 
Wilkes  wrote  it,  intending  it  as  a  parody  on  Pope's  Essay  on 
Man.     He  had  printed  it  at  a  private  press  ;  only  a  small  num- 
ber of  copies  had  been  struck  off;  and  these  were  intended  for 
the  boon  companions  of  his  licentious  and  dissolute  hours.     The 
prime  minister  had  heard  of  its  existence,  and  had  obtained  a 
copy  by  heavily  bribing  the  printer,  which  he  laid  on  the  table 
of  the  House.     The  instrument  used  in  this  trickery  was  Lord 
March,  one  of  the   most  depraved  and  unscrupulous  compan- 
ions of  Wilkes  himself. 

The  unfairness  of  the  means  thus  employed  by  the  govern- 
ment to  injure  Wilkes,  rendered  him  what  he  chiefly  desired  to 
become,  a  persecuted  man,  and  a  representative  of  popular  lib- 
erty. The  steps  taken  against  him  by  Parliament  only  added 
to  the  popularity  of  this  vile  demagogue,  who  really  despised 
liberty  as  much  as  he  contemned  religion  and  decency.  He  was 
censured  by  the  House,  and  finally  outlawed.  Thus  after  a  fierce 
and  protracted  struggle,  it  remained  a  drawn  battle  between  the 
combatants.  The  Parliament  declared  general  warrants  to  be 
illegal,  and  Wilkes  had  recovered  damages  for  his  arrest.  But 
his  paper  had  been  stigmatized  as  a  libel,  he  had  been  deprived 
9* 


202  HISTORY  OF  THE   FOrR   GEORGES. 

of  his  military  rank,  he  had  lost  his  seat  in  the  House,  and  he 
was  in  fact  a  disgraced  and  ruined  man ;  to  whom  the  empty  ad- 
ulation of  the  multitude  could  be  no  equivalent  for  the  torrent  of 
execration  and  contumely  from  the  intelligent  and  estimable  por- 
tion of  the  nation,  which  overwhelmed  him.* 

*  See  the  Correspondence  of  the  late  George  Wilkes  with  his  Friends,  jmnted 
from  the  Original  Manuscripts  /  with  a  Memoir  of  his  Life.  By  John  Almon. 
6  vols.    London,  1805. 


CHAPTEE   III. 


Financial  Affairs  of  the  Nation — Kesolution  to  impose  Stamp  Duties  on  the  American 
Colonies — A  Council  of  Eegency  Appointed — Death  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland — 
The  Rockingham  Ministry — Inefficiency  of  this  Cabinet — First  appearance  of  Burke 
in  Parliament — Dispute  with  the  American  Colonies — Discussions  in  reference  to 
tl»eir  Taxation — Arguments  advanced  on  both  sides  of  tho  Question — Eetum  of 
William  Pitt  to  Power. 


The  financial  difficulties  of  the  nation  still  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  prime  minister.  The  aimual  revenues  were  insufficient  in 
the  year  1765,  to  meet  the  annual  expenses  of  the  government. 
Therefore  it  was  that  George  Grenville  felt  the  necessity  of  devi- 
sing some  new  sources  of  income ;  and  his  sharp  hut  contracted  in- 
tellect discovered  an  expedient,  of  the  real  importance  of  which  he 
had  not  the  remotest  conception,  but  which  was  the  most  decisive 
and  momentous  in  its  results  ever  proposed  or  executed  by  any 
statesman.  It  occurred  to  him  that  the  British  colonies  in  Amer- 
ica should  be  taxed  in  order  to  increase  the  home  revenue.  This 
was  a  measure^  the  boldness  of  which  had  appalled  even  the  res- 
olute heart  of  Eobert  Walpole,  who  declared  during  his  -admin- 
istration, that  it  was  a  project  far  too  hazardous  for  him  to 
venture  upon. 

The  plan  adopted  by  which  such  taxation  might  be  imposed 
upon  the  subjects  of  Britain  in  America,  was  that  of  Stamp  Du- 
ties. It  required  that  the  innumerable  certificates,  dockets,  clear- 
ances, and  affidavits,  used  in  the  transactions  of  commerce  be- 
tween the  two  countries,  must,  in  order  to  be  valid,  be  printed 
on  stamped  paper ;  and  for  that  stamped  paper  an  exorbitant 
price  was  demanded.     Nor  was  the  increased  expense  the  only 


204  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

obnoxious  feature  in  this  new  expedient  of  the  minister.  The 
right  therein  asserted  by  England  to  tax  the  colonies  at  her 
will  for  her  oMn  exclusive  benefit,  without  allowing  them  the 
right  of  representation  in  the  parliament,  involved  a  principle  of 
oppression  which  would  not  only  be  joernicious  in  itself,  but  would 
inevitably  lead  to  other  and  greater  extremes  of  tyranny,  to 
which  no  possible  limit  could  be  set.  As  soon  as  information 
reached  the  colonies  of  this  proposed  imposition,  many  petitions 
and  memorials  were  sent  by  them  to  the  sovereign,  denying  the 
right  of  the  mother-country  to  levy  such  a  tax,  and  denouncing 
the  measure  as  unjust  and  inexpedient  in  itself  But  all  the  ar- 
guments used  were  met  by  the  assertion,  that  it  was  but  proper 
that  the  colonies  should  contribute  their  share  to  the  general  ex- 
penses of  the  empire ;  that  large  sums  of  money  had  been  fre- 
quently voted  by  parliament  to  the  colonies,  to  indemnify  them 
for  the  losses  which  they  had  sustained  in  the  wars  which  had 
been  waged  against  the  enemies  of  Britain  on  the  American  con- 
tinent ;  and  that  something  was  due  in  return  for  the  protection 
and  assistance  which  had  been  received  from  the  mother 
country,* 

While  this  momentous  theme  was  being  agitated  in  both 
continents,  several  domestic  incidents  of  great  importance  oc- 
curred to  the  person  and  the  family  of  George  III.  The  king 
began  to  give,  at  this  period,  the  first  temporary  indications  of 
that  mental  disease   to    which   he   afterward   became   entirely 

*  In  the  month  of  February,  1756,  the  sum  of  £115,000  was  voted  by  Par- 
liament, as  a  free  gift  and  reward  to  the  colonies  of  New  England,  New  York, 
and  Jersey,  for  their  past  services ;  and  as  an  encouragement  to  continue  to 
exert  themselves  with  vigor ;  May,  1757,  £50,000  was  in  like  manner  voted  to 
the  Carolinas ;  and  in  1758,  £41,000  to  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  April, 
1709,  £200,000  were  voted  as  a  compensation  to  the  respective  colonies  in  North 
America— March,  1760,  £200,000—1761,  £200,000—1762,  £133,000- in  all,  one 
million  seventy-two  thousand  pounds.  Exclusive,  however,  of  these  indem- 
nifications, and  of  the  extraordinary  supplies  granted  in  the  different  colonial 
assemblies,  a  debt  of  above  two  millions  and  a  half  had  been  incurred  by  Amer- 
ica during  the  war ;  and  this  debt  was  far  from  being  as  yet  liquidated.  But 
it  might  be  inferred  from  the  conduct  of  the  ministry,  that  the  most  trivial  reve- 
nue extorted  from  America  was  deemed  preferable  to  the  largest  sums  freely  and 
voluntarily  granted.    BelsharrCs  Memoirs  of  George  III. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE  THIRD.  205 

subject.  The  heir  apparent  was  still  in  his  minority,  being  only 
two  years  old,  and  no  public  provision  had  been  made  to  carry 
on  the  government  in  case  a  total  aberration  of  the  intellect  of 
the  sovereign  occurred.  In  April,  1765,  the  matter  was  brought 
before  the  House  of  Peers  at  the  instance  of  the  monarch  himself. 
A  bill  was  accordingly  introduced  into  that  body,  framed  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  plan  of  the  Regency  Act  of  the  Twenty -fourth 
of  George  II.  empowering  the  king  to  appoint  the  queen  or  any 
other  member  of  the  royal  family  resident  in  Great  Britain,  as 
regent  until  the  heir  apparent  should  have  attained  the  age  of 
eighteen  years.  The  Council  of  the  Regency  were  to  include  the 
Dukes  of  York  and  Gloucester,  Princes  Henry  Frederic  and 
Frederic  William,  William  Augustus,  Duke  of  Cumberland,  and 
the  cabinet  ministers.  By  this  means  the  most  pressing  emer- 
gency of  the  crown  was  provided  for.  Subsequently  the  name  of 
the  Princess  Dowager  was  added  to  the  list  of  the  Council,  in 
consequence  of  the  strenuous  representations  of  her  friends  in  the 
government.  The  princess  was  obnoxious  to  Grenville  and  to 
the  cabinet  which  he  ruled.  The  effort  which  he  had  made  to 
exclude  her  from  the  regency  offended  the  king ;  and  had  it  been 
possible  to  effect  an  arrangement  with  Pitt  at  this  crisis,  he 
would  have  supplanted  Grenville  in  the  premiership.  But  the 
secret  negotiations  which  were  opened  on  the  subject  failed. 

The  other  domestic  incident  of  importance  was  the  death  of 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  uncle  of  George  III.  The  health  of  the 
favorite  son  of  Caroline  had  long  been  failing.  He  had  been 
suffering  from  a  paralytic  stroke,  and  had  nearly  become  blind. 
On  the  perilous  day  of  Dettingen,  he  received  a  wound  which 
had  never  been  entirely  cured.  His  military  talents  were 
respectable  ;  and  the  triumph  of  Culloden  which  he  tarnished  by 
unparalleled  cruelties  to  the  Scotch  had  made  him  the  lasting 
favorite  of  the  English  nation.  To  him  had  fallen  the  rare  good 
fortune,  to  have  fought  and  won  on  that  day  one  of  the  decisive 
battles  of  the  world.  He  enjoyed  the  singular  lot  of  receiving 
from  his  countrymen  the  constant  and  ambiguous  title  of  "  the 
Duke ; "  a  peculiarity  which  has  characterized  but  three  English- 


206  HISTOET   OF  THE   FOUR   GEOKGES. 

men — Marlborough,  Wellington,  and  himself.  His  nature  was 
cruel  and  fierce ;  and  he  was  feared  much  more  than  he  was 
loved.  On  one  occasion  his  nephew,  afterward  George  III.,  en- 
tered his  apartment,  which  was  so  completely  hung  around  with 
all  kinds  of  deadly  weapons,  that  it  very  much  resembled  a  min- 
iature arsenal.  He  took  down  a  sword  to  exhibit  it  to  his  vis- 
itor. The  latter  turned  pale,  fearing  lest  the  purpose  of  his  rude 
uncle  might  be,  to  dispatch  him  after  the  example  of  a  certain 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  of  bloody  and  savage  memory.  Yet  the  Duke 
possessed  some  generous  traits.  Having  once  lost  his  pocket- 
book  at  the  Newmarket  races,  he  remarked  to  a  half-pay  officer 
who  had  found  it,  and  brought  it  to  him  :  "  Pray  keep  it.  Sir  ;  if 
you  had  not  found  it,  its  contents  would  before  this  have  been 
in  the  hands  of  the  blacklegs."  On  the  31st  of  October,  1765, 
when  at  his  town-house  in  Grosvenor  Sti-eet,  he  was  suddenly 
seized  with  a  fit  of  suffocation.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle  and 
Lord  Albemarle  were  present.  One  of  his  valets  attempted  to 
bleed  him.  He  quietly  remarked :  "  It  is  all  over,"  and  im- 
mediately expired.  Thus  passed  away  the  only  member  of  the 
House  of  Hanover  in  England,  who  ever  possessed  the  slightest 
claim  to  any  superiority  of  intellect  or  elevation  of  soul.  He 
died  in  his  forty-sixth  year. 

One  of  the  last  acts  performed  by  the  Duke  was  his  intro- 
duction of  the  Eockingham  ministry.  At  the  earnest  request  of 
the  king — M'ho  had  learned  to  detest  Grenville,  his  meanness,  his 
narrow-mindedness  and  his  everlasting  speeches,  beyond  endur- 
ance— he  had  undertaken  and  performed  this  task.  The  Mar- 
quis of  Rockingham  was  a  person  of  great  probity,  of  respectable 
talents,  of  amiable  mamiers,  and  of  excellent  character.  He  was 
indeed  no  orator ;  and  never  rose  to  address  the  house  on  any  oc- 
casion, even  after  years  of  experience  and  practice,  without  a  de- 
gree of  nervous  agitation  which  he  could  not  conceal.  His  most 
eminent  qualities  were  his  prudence,  and  his  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  wants  and  resources  of  the  empire.  Mr.  Dowdeswell  was 
appointed  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  Lord  Egmont  became 
first  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  and  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  a  yomig 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE  THIRD.  207 

nobleman  afterward  destined  to  an  ignoble  immortality  by  the 
powerful  but  partial  pen  of  Junius,  became  Keeper  of  the  Seals. 
General  Conway  was  made  Secretary  of  State ;  and  to  him  was 
intrusted  the  lead  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

Not  one  of  these  ministers  possessed  any  oratorical  ability. 
Every  impartial  and  intelligent  observer  supposed  that  a  single 
blow  from  the  powerful  arm  of  the  great  Pitt,  would  crush  them 
at  once  and  for  ever.  The  whole  of  them  combined  in  one, 
would  have  been  impotent  before  his  tremendous  power.  They 
seem  to  have  been  aware  of  this  fact ;  and  Rockingham  exhib- 
ited his  usual  prudence  in  providing  a  protector  against  the  ap- 
prehended assaults  of  the  Titan,  by  enlisting  the  aid  of  another 
giant,  younger,  more  learned,  more  eloquent,  and  now  more  en- 
ergetic than  himself.  Some  time  before  this  period  a  young  Irish- 
man had  arrived  in  London  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  his  for- 
tune. He  was  poor  ;  and  his  first  resource  was  very  naturally 
an  application  for  employment  to  the  booksellers.  His  compo- 
sitions exhibited  such  rare  superiority,  such  splendor  of  diction, 
such  depth  of  argument,  and  such  richness  of  imagination,  that 
he  escaped  the  usual  fate  of  applicants  both  great  and  small 
under  such  circumstances,  and  his  productions  were  accepted  and 
published.  His  fame  extended  widely  and  rapidly  and  he  be- 
came in  a  short  time  one  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  letters  in 
the  metropolis,  the  associate  and  rival  of  Samuel  Johnson.  Nor 
were  his  talents  confined  to  mere  literary  ability.  The  young 
adventurer  possessed  eloquence  of  a  high  order,  and  all  the  abilities 
which  were  essential  to  constitute  a  statesman.  He  had  fortu- 
nately become  known  to  the  new  minister,  who  fully  appreciated 
his  extraordinary  merits.  As  soon  as  Lord  Rockingham  entered 
the  cabinet,  he  appointed  this  "  wild  Irishman,"  named  O'Bourke 
— afterward  famous  throughout  the  civilized  world  as  Edmund 
Burke — as  his  private  secretary,  and  forthwith  secured  his  elec- 
tion to  a  seat  in  Parliament. 

The  first  measure  of  importance  which  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  new  government  was  the  impending  dispute  with  the 
American  Colonies.    The  subject  was  somewhat  new  to  British 


208  mSTOKT  OF  THE  FOUR  GEOEGES. 

statesmen,  and  three  opinions  prevailed  among  them  in  reference 
to  it.  One  party  were  in  favor  of  enforcing  the  Stamp  Act  by 
all  the  rigors  of  military  power.  They  contended  that  the  gov- 
ernment possessed  ample  authority  to  impose  whatever  taxes 
they  decreed  necessary,  throughout  the  whole  British  Empire ; 
and  that  British  subjects  everywhere  were  bound,  on  pain  of 
treason,  to  yield  implicit  obedience  to  the  requisition.  They 
further  held  that  it  was  m  the  highest  degree  expedient  to  enforce 
this  tax.  In  America,  there  were  young  and  vigorous  states 
which  had  been  planted,  nurtured,  and  protected  by  the  m.other 
country.  They  were  increasing  day  by  day  in  wealth,  influence, 
and  prosperity.  They  were  abundantly  able  to  bear  the  light 
and  easy  burden  of  taxation  which  had  been  imposed  upon  them. 
England  had  been  greatly  embarrassed  by  the  immense  expenses 
of  the  war  which  had  recently  been  terminated  ;  and  the  colonies 
had  derived  important  advantages  from  a  conflict,  from  the  cost 
of  which  they  had  been  exempt.  It  was  high  time,  therefore,  that 
they  should  be  made  to  share  a  portion  of  the  general  burdens. 
This  was  the  opinion  of  the  king  and  of  the  court. 

Another  party  held  that,  though  the  Act  imposing  the  tax 
lay  within  the  constitutional  competence  of  parliament,  it  was 
most  unwise  and  inexpedient  to  enforce  it.  They  believed  that 
the  British  King  and  his  Legislature  had  power  to  pass  any  law 
they  pleased,  and  that  law  would  be  valid.  They  might,  if  they 
chose,  abolish  the  most  valuable  rights  of  the  subject ;  they 
might  repeal  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  and  the  Toleration  Act ; 
and  such  repeal  would  possess  all  the  force  of  constitutional  law. 
In  this  view  the  taxation  of  the  American  Colonies  was  legal ; 
but  they  contended  that  it  was  at  that  time  inexpedient.  The 
loyalty  of  the  colonists  was  not  as  strong  as  it  might  be ;  a 
powerful  party  among  them  was  already  hostile  to  British  su- 
premacy ;  it  would  be  impossible  to  enforce  the  act  upon  three 
millions  of  subjects  against  their  will ;  and  it  was  much  wiser  to 
repeal  it  at  once  with  a  good  grace.  These  views  were  held  by 
Lord  Rockingham,  and  defended  by  his  adherents.* 

*  The  debates  which  occurred  in  the  British  Parliament  on  this  questioa  as 


LIFE   A:CfD   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE  THIRD.  209 

A  third  party,  headed  by  William  Pitt,  contended  that  Par- 
liament was  not  competent  to  tax  the  colonies,  and  that  the  Act 
was  in  itself  null  and  void.  This  position  he  defended  with  great 
eloquence  and  force.  The  chief  argument  which  may  be  ad- 
vanced in  support  of  this  position,  is  based  on  the  principle  that 
in  justice  there  can  be  no  taxation  without  representation. 
However  true  the  position  may  be  in  general,  that  the  British 
Legislature  was  competent  to  pass  laws  taxing  all  British  sub- 
jects, that  position  is  qualified  by  the  single  restriction,  that  those 
subjects  thus  taxed  should  be  represented  in  the  national  Legis- 
lature. They  should  be  permitted  to  have  a  voice  in  reference 
to  the  adoption  of  measures,  the  expenses  and  the  consequences 
of  which  they  were  expected  to  share.  Having  had  no  part  in 
the  councils  of  the  home  government,  no  influence  in  the  adoption 
or  rejection  of  the  policy  pursued,  either  in  reference  to  them- 
selves or  to  others,  they  should  be  free  from  all  responsibility  on 
the  subject. 

These  were  the  views  entertained  by  the  colonists  them- 
selves. The  Stamp  Act  was  permitted  by  the  British  govern- 
ment to  retain  the  force  of  law  ;  but  when  the  day  appointed  for 
its  operation  to  commence  arrived,  the  people  displayed  the  ut- 
most indignation  against  it.  The  colors  of  the  ships  in  the  Ameri- 
can harbors  were  hung  at  half-mast.  The  muffled  bells  of  the 
churches  sounded  forth  mournfiil  peals.  Copies  of  the  Act  were 
burnt  by  the  populace.  Cargoes  of  the  stamped  paper  were  taken 
from  the  ships,  and  consigned  to  the  flames.  The  houses  of  those 
who  had  been  appointed  to  sell  the  stamps  were  assailed  by  mobs ; 
and  justices  of  the  peace  gave  notice  that  they  would  regard  the 
use  of  such  paper  in  their  judicial  proceedings  as  invalid.  On 
the  1st  of  November,  1768,  the  day  appointed  for  the  use  of 
the  stamps  to  commence  throughout  the  colonies,  scarcely  a 
sheet  of  it  could  be  found.     The  provincial  assemblies  met  and 

well  as  on  all  others,  are  to  be  found  in  their  greatest  fulness  and  accuracy  in 
"  The  Parliamentary  History  of  England  from  the  Earliest  Period  to  the  Year 
1S03,"  in  thirty-six  volumes,  octavo,  London.  For  the  proceedings  in  reference 
to  the  Stamp  Act,  and  its  Repeal,  see  Vol.  xvi.,  published  in  1813,  p.  162,  seg. 


210  HISTOKT   OF  THE  FOTJE   GEOKGES. 

passed  resolutions  condemning  the  Act,  and  commanding  all  good 
citizens  to  denounce  and  resist  their  introduction.  The  whole 
continent  had  risen  in  arms  against  the  law. 

The  administration  soon  became  convinced  that  it  was  utterly 
impossible  to  enforce  the  Stamp  Act  in  America,  and  a  bill  was 
eventually  introduced  by  the  ministers  for  its  repeal.  Both  Pitt 
and  Burke,  the  one  the  setting,  the  other  the  rising,  sun  of  British 
parliamentary  eloquence  of  that  day,  exerted  themselves  in  favor 
of  the  repeal.  The  ministers  succeeded  by  a  large  majority ; 
and  the  king  was  constrained  reluctantly,  and  with  a  very  bad 
grace,  to  approve  the  bill,  and  give  it  his  assent.  The  repeal  of 
the  Stamp  Act  was  the  principal  measure  accomplished  by  the 
Rockingham  ministry.  That  upright  and  estimable  nobleman 
received  his  dismissal  from  the  cabinet  immediately  after  the 
adjournment  of  Parliament.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  "  Great 
Commoner  "  who  had  on  several  former  occasions  rescued  Eng- 
land from  disgrace  and  misfortune.  Yet  his  return  to  power, 
and  his  elevation  to  the  peerage  at  this  crisis,  destroyed  in  a 
great  measure  his  popularity  with  the  nation ;  for  Lord  Chatham 
never  became  to  them  the  marvellous  hero  and  unrivalled  favor- 
ite which  William  Pitt  had  so  long  and  so  deservedly  been.* 

*  See  A  History  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Cliatham,  containing 
Jiis  Speeches  in  Parliament,  etc.,  with  an  account  of  the  Principal  Events  and 
Persons  of  7iis  Time.  By  Rev.  Francis  Thacheray,  A.M.  2  vols.  4to.  London, 
1827.  Gerard  Hamilton,  of  "Single  Speech"  memory,  expressed  in  one  ad- 
mirable sentence  the  real  character  of  Pitt  as  a  statesman  and  a  minister :  "  For 
those  who  want  merely  to  keep  a  subordinate  employment,  Mr.  Pitt  is  certainly 
the  best  minister  in  the  world ;  but  for  those  who  wish  to  have  a  share  in 
the  rule  and  government  of  the  country,  he  is  the  worst."  Correspondence  of 
William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham.  Edited  by  William  Stanhope  Taylor,  Esq.,  and 
Capt.  J.  H.  Pringle.    3  vols.  8vo.    London,  1838. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


Lord  Chatliam's  InefDciency— Ilis  Illness— His  Absurd  Conduct— His  Singular  Seclu- 
sion— Inflexibility  of  George  III. — Resignation  of  Lord  Chatham — The  Parliamen- 
tary Election  of  1768 — Renewal  of  the  Contest  with  "Wilkes — His  Repeated  Election 
to,  and  Expulsion  from,  Parliament — His  Ultimate  Defeat — Charter  of  the  British 
East  India  Company — The  Letters  of  Junius— Intense  Excitement  produced  by 
their  Appearance. 


The  nation  was  destined  to  be  grievously  disappointed  in  the  re- 
sults produced  by  the  last  introduction  of  Lord  Chatham  to  the 
highest  and  most  responsible  seat  in  the  government.  The  sa- 
gacity, the  consistency,  and  the  resistless  energy  which  had  for- 
merly rendered  him  the  salvation  and  glory  of  England,  now 
appeared  to  have  forsaken  him.  A  new  project  was  set  on  foot 
for  the  taxation  of  the  American  Colonies.  Charles  Townshend, 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the 
prime  movers  on  this  occasion  ;  for  he  boasted  in  the  House  of 
Commons  *'  that  he  knew  how  to  draw  a  revenue  from  the  Col- 
onies without  giving  them  offence."  He  aimounced  his  new 
project  in  the  cabinet.  Mr.  Grenville  and  General  Conway,  the 
latter  at  that  time  Secretary  of  State,  approved  of  it.  It  is 
probable  that  Lord  Bute,  still  the  favorite  of  the  Princess  Dow- 
ager, was  the  secret,  yet  most  active,  originator  of  this  new  plan 
of  extortion.  In  March,  1767,  its  efficiency  and  expediency  were 
discussed  and  sustained  in  the  cabinet ;  but  the  continued  ab- 
sence of  Lord  Chatham  from  their  deliberations,  which  occurred 
at  this  period,  was  the  chief  reason  why  the  subject  was  even 
proposed  and  entertained.  The  bill  in  question  imposed  duties 
on  glass,  tea,  paper,  and  painter's  colors,  imported  from  Great 


212  HISTOKY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

Britain  into  the  colonies.  This  measure  was  supposed  to  be  less 
obnoxious  from  the  flict  that  port  duties  had  before  this  period 
been  exacted  for  the  purpose  of  commercial  regulation.  This 
was  particularly  the  case  in  reference  to  an  act  passed  in  the 
sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  George  II.  The  same  power  which  en- 
abled Parliament  to  impose  duties  in  the  one  case,  it  was  asserted, 
rendered  the  act  valid  in  the  other  ;  and  no  objection  was  appre- 
hended by  the  home  government  on  the  part  of  the  distant  col- 
onies. Had  Lord  Chatham  been  able  or  willing  at  this  crisis,  to 
take  an  active  part  in  the  measures  of  a  government  of  which  he 
was  nominally  the  head,  this  absurd  opinion  would  have  been 
refuted,  and  the  pernicious  measures  resulting  from  it  would 
have  been  avoided. 

But  the  great  minister  was  afflicted  at  this  period  by  a  singu- 
lar and  a  somewhat  mysterious  disease,  which  rendered  him  little 
more  than  a  mere  puppet ;  and  secluded  him  wholly  from  the 
nation,  and  even  from  his  associates  in  the  cabinet.  A  difference 
of  opinion  has  always  existed  in  reference  to  this  subject.  Some 
have  asserted  that  the  whole  matter  was  a  mere  pretence  and 
fraud,  intended  to  excuse  him  from  the  labors  and  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  government  at  a  dangerous  and  critical  crisis ; 
that  while  he  clung  to  the  shadow  and  the  glory  of  place  and 
power,  he  meanly  avoided  its  perils  and  its  miseries.  Others 
contended  that  at  this  time  the  great  genius  of  Chatham  be- 
came shrouded  in  a  total  eclipse ;  that  he  became  utterly  de- 
ranged ;  and  that  he  secluded  himself,  or  was  secluded,  to  escape 
the  shame  and  the  disgrace  which  such  a  calamity  entailed. 
Neither  of  these  suppositions  possessed  the  least  shadow  of 
truth  or  probability. 

The  fact  was,  that  the  chronic  gout  with  which  Lord  Chatham 
had  been  afflicted  during  the  whole  of  his  life,  at  this  period  as- 
sumed a  wandering  and  ill-declared  condition.  It  fell  upon  his 
nerves,  and  although  it  left  him  in  the  full  possession  of  his  men- 
tal powers,  it  rendered  the  exercise  of  them  dangerous  and  per- 
nicious in  the  highest  degree.  The  effect  of  this  peculiar  ner- 
vous state  has  been  exhibited  in  the  lives  of  many  other  distin- 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   TIIE   TIITRD.  213 

guished  men  of  genius.  Cowper's  muse  would  only  sing  at 
stated  intervals  and  under  peculiar  influences.  Collins  and 
Thompson  also  suffered  under  these  inequalities  of  the  intellec- 
tual faculties  ;  and  the  immortal  strains  of  Milton  never  flowed  be- 
tween the  autumnal  and  vernal  equinox ;  but  his  mind  became 
genial  and  creative  only  Avhen  the  temperature  of  spring  revived 
all  nature,  and  made  the  groves  and  valleys  musical  with  the 
songs  of  birds.  Thus  a  temporary  inaptitude  fell  at  this  period 
upon  the  mind  of  Chatham.  Even  the  writing  of  an  ordinary 
letter  overpowered  him.  Lady  Chatham  has  herself  described 
his  singular  condition  in  a  letter  to  one  of  his  most  intimate 
friends.*  "  The  state  of  extreme  weakness  and  illness  in  which 
my  Lord  finds  himself,  from  the  gout  not  being  fixed,  obliges 
him  to  beg  leave  of  your  Lordship  to  acknowledge  by  my  hand, 
the  honor  of  your  much  obliging  letter."  He  continued  in  this 
state  during  the  period  of  a  year  and  a  half  In  October,  1768, 
he  had  an  interview  with  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  after  frequent  and 
earnest  solicitation.  Of  that  interview,  and  the  impression  pro- 
duced by  it,  the  Duke  said  :  "  I  must  confess,  from  the  length 
of  my  Lord's  illness,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  gout  is  dis- 
persed upon  his  habit,  that  I  believe  there  is  but  small  prospect 
of  his  ever  being  able  to  enter  much  into  business  again. f  "  The 
ministry,  though  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  his  talents,  still  pos- 
sessed and  valued  the  influence  of  his  name ;  but  he  excluded 
them  totally  from  personal  interviews.  Even  the  ordinary  cor- 
respondence of  the  Earl  devolved  upon  Lady  Chatham.  Both  the 
king  and  the  cabinet  regarded  the  event  of  his  resignation  as  a 
great  calamity ;  and  hence,  though  he  was  a  mere  cipher  in  the 
government,  he  was  nominally  at  its  head.  It  is  curious  to  ob- 
serve how  earnestly  the  ministers  implored  him  to  grant  one  of 
them  an  interview ;  and  the  piteous  manner  in  which  he  declined. 
The  Duke  of  Grafton  declared  in  one  of  his  letters  :  "  If  I  could 
be  allowed  but  a  few  minutes  to  wait  on  you,  it  would  give  me 

*  To  Lord  Camden,  23d  of  January,  1768.     Correspondence  of  William  Pitt. 
Edited  hy  Taylor  and  Pringle.     London,  1S3S.     Vol.  iii.,  p.  317. 
+  Correspondence  of  Lord  Chatham,  Vol.  iii.,  p.  337. 


214  mSTOET  OF  THE  FOUE  GEOKGES. 

great  relief;  for  the  moment  is  too  critical  for  your  Lordship's 
advice  and  direction  not  to  be  necessary."  The  enfeebled  statesman 
replied  by  the  hand  of  his  wife  :  "  Lord  Chatham,  still  unable  to 
■write,  begs  leave  to  assure  the  Duke  of  Grafton  of  his  best  re- 
spects, and,  at  the  same  time,  to  lament  that  the  continuation  of 
his  illness  reduces  him  to  the  painful  necessity  of  most  earnest- 
ly entreating  his  grace  to  pardon  him,  if  he  begs  to  be  allowed 
to  decline  the  honor  of  the  visit  which  the  Duke  has  so  kindly 
proposed."  On  a  subsequent  occasion  Chatham  responded  to  a 
similar  proposition  :  "  He  implores  the  Duke  of  Grafton  to  be 
persuaded  that  nothing  less  than  impossibility  prevents  him  from 
seeing  him.  The  first  moment  health  and  strength  return,  Lord 
Chatham  will  humbly  request  permission  to  renew,  at  his  majes- 
ty's feet,  all  the  sentiments  of  duty  and  most  devoted  attach- 
ment." 

At  length  the  cabinet  became  desperate  in  their  inability  to 
extricate  themselves  from  their  difficulties,  and  the  king  was  in- 
duced to  address  an  autograph  letter  to  his  favorite  minister  on 
the  state  of  affairs.  The  royal  writer  said  :  "  No  one  has  more 
cautiously  avoided  writing  to  you  than  myself,  during  your  late 
indisposition ;  but  the  moment  is  so  extremely  critical,  that  I 
cannot  possibly  delay  it  any  longer.  By  the  letter  you  received 
yesterday  from  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  you  must  perceive  the 
anxiety  he  and  the  President  at  present  labor  under.  The  Chan- 
cellor is  very  much  in  the  same  situation.  This  is  equally  owing 
to  the  majority  in  the  House  of  Lords,  amounting  on  the  Friday 
only  to  six  and  on  the  Tuesday  to  three,  though  I  made  two  of 
my  brothers  vote  on  both  those  days  ;  and  to  the  great  cold- 
ness shown  those  three  ministers  by  Lord  Shelburne,  whom  they 
as  well  as  myself,  imagine  to  be  rather  a  secret  enemy ;  the 
avowed  enmity  of  Mr.  Townshend ;  and  the  resolution  of  Lieuten- 
ant-general Conway  to  retire,  though  without  any  view  of  enter- 
ing into  faction. 

"  My  firmness  is  not  dismayed  by  these  unpleasant  appear- 
ances :  for,  from  the  hour  you  entered  into  office,  I  have  uniformly 
relied  on  your  firmness  to  act  in  defiance  to  that  hydra  faction 


LIFE   AND   REIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIRD.  215 

which  has  never  appeared  to  the  height  it  now  does,  till  within 
these  few  weeks.  Though  your  relations,  the  Bedfords  and  the 
Rockinghams  are  joined,  with  intention  to  storm  my  closet,  yet 
if  I  was  mean  enough  to  submit,  they  own  they  would  not  join 
in  forming  an  administration ;  therefore  nothing  but  confusion 
could  be  obtained. 

"  I  am  strongly  of  opinion  with  the  answer  you  sent  the 
Duke  of  Grafton ;  but,  by  a  note  I  have  received  from  him,  I 
fear  I  cannot  keep  him  above  a  day,  unless  you  would  see  him 
and  give  him  encouragement.  Your  duty  and  affection  for  my 
person,  your  own  honor,  call  on  you  to  make  an  effort :  five 
minutes'  conversation  with  you  would  raise  his  spirits,  for  his 
heart  is  good ;  mine,  I  thank  Heaven,  wants  no  rousing :  my 
love  to  my  country,  as  well  as  what  I  owe  to  my  own  character 
and  to  my  flimily,  prompt  me  not  to  yield  to  faction.  Be  firm, 
and  you  will  find  me  amply  ready  to  take  as  active  a  part  as  the 
hour  seems  to  require.  Though  none  of  my  ministers  stand  by 
me,  I  cannot  truckle."  * 

In  response  to  this  urgent  letter  from  the  royal  hand  the 
afflicted  statesman  answered :  "  Lord  Chatham  most  humbly 
begs  leave  to  lay  himself  with  all  duty  at  the  king's  feet,  and 
fearing,  lest  he  may  not  have  rightly  apprehended  his  Majesty's 
most  gracious  commands,  humbly  entreats  his  Majesty  to  permit 
him  to  say,  that  seeing  the  Duke  of  Grafton  to-morrow  morning 
he  understands  it  not  to  be  his  Majesty's  pleasure  that  he  should 
attend  his  Majesty  any  part  of  the  day  to-morrow.  He  is  un- 
happily obliged  to  confess  that  the  honor  and  weight  of  such  an 
audience  would  have  been  more  than  he  could  sustain  in  his 
present  extreme  weakness  of  nerves  and  spirit." 

One  would  naturally  suppose  that  such  a  letter  would  have 
excited  the  royal  pity,  and  that  a  minister  so  desperately  afflicted 

*  This  remarkable  letter  is  inserted  at  length,  because  it  throws  a  clear  and 
convincing  light  not  only  upon  the  estimate  in  which  the  King  held  the  charac- 
ter and  services  of  Chatham  ;  but  also  because  it  reveals  the  state  of  the  King's 
mind,  the  force  of  faction,  the  dismay  of  the  ministers,  the  dissensions  of  the 
cabinet,  and  the  miseries  which  often  attend  the  possession  of  the  most  coveted 
boons  of  high  rank,  extensive  authority,  and  illustrious  name. 


216  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUE   GEORGES. 

and  enervated  would  have  been  permitted  at  last  to  rest  in 
peace.  But  such  was  not  the  fact.  Several  days  afterward,  the 
difficulties  of  the  cabinet  having  increased,  the  king  again  applied 
to  Chatham,  to  lay  before  him  a  plan  by  which  the  government 
might  be  extricated  from  its  embarrassments.  The  persecuted 
and  unhappy  statesman  answered  by  the  hand  of  his  wife : 
"  Lord  Chatham,  totally  incapable,  from  an  increase  of  illness, 
to  use  his  pen,  most  humbly  begs  to  lay  himself  with  all  duty 
and  submission  at  the  king's  feet,  and  with  unspeakable  affection 
again  to  represent  to  his  Majesty  the  most  unhappy  and  utter 
disability  which  his  present  state  of  health  as  yet  continues  to 
lay  him  under ;  and  once  more  most  humbly  to  implore  compassion 
and  pardon  from  his  Majesty  for  the  cruel  situation  which  still 
deprives  him  of  the  possibility  of  activity,  and  of  proving  to  his 
Majesty  the  truth  of  an  unfeigned  zeal,  in  the  present  moment 
rendered  useless."  This  pitiful  reply,  the  spirit  of  which  is  so 
utterly  craven,  and  unworthy  of  any  being  possessing  the  human 
form,  especially  of  one  having  the  mental  superiority  of  Lord 
Chatham,  seems  at  last  to  have  melted  the  heart,  and  excited  the 
sympathy,  of  the  obdurate  and  headstrong  monarch ;  who  ended  his 
persecutions  by  prescribing  a  physician  for  his  afflicted  minister. 

It  is  evident,  that  during  this  mysterious  interval  Chatham 
was  not  insane,  as  was  generally  supposed,  for  several  reasons. 
His  colleagues  addressed  him  letters,  as  to  a  perfectly  sane  per- 
son. The  answers  which  they  received  in  reply  were  evidently 
the  production  of  a  person  in  the  full  possession  of  his  faculties. 
When  his  illness  was  greatest  he  wrote  a  perfectly  rational  letter 
to  George  III.  with  his  own  hand.  At  the  same  period  he  twice 
held  personal  interviews  with  one  of  his  colleagues  in  the  mm- 
istry,  in  which  he  displayed  no  evidence  whatever  of  mental  de- 
rangement. 

At  length,  after  nearly  two  years  spent  in  seclusion  and  sick- 
ness, the  health  of  the  prime  minister  still  remained  feeble,  and 
his  capacity  for  mental  effort  utterly  suspended.  In  October, 
1768,  he  delivered  himself  from  the  anomalous  nature  of  his  po- 
sition by  resigning.     The  death  of  Mr.  Townshend  had  taken 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIRD.  217 

place  some  time  previous  to  this  event ;  and  Lord  North  became 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  his  stead.  The  Duke  of  Grafton 
also  resigned  at  a  later  date,  when  Lord  North  was  transferred 
to  the  post  of  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury.  Thomas  Townshend 
succeeded  Lord  North  as  Paymaster  of  the  Forces.  Thus  did 
the  Great  Commoner  pass  away  for  the  last  time  from  that  high 
place  which  he  had  once  occupied  wVth  such  unrivalled  splendor 
and  celebrity.  He  survived  his  last  resignation  of  office  for  ten 
years.  His  release  from  its  burdens  and  responsibilities  seemed 
to  operate  as  a  charm  upon  his  health.  lie  soon  began  to  re- 
cover ;  and  in  a  few  months  we  again  behold  him  in  the  House 
of  Peers,  displaying  a  degree  of  eloquence  against  the  measures 
of  a  short-sighted  and  pernicious  ministry  which,  though  only  the 
shadow  of  what  his  oratorical  exhiljitions  once  had  been,  still 
surpassed  and  overwhelmed  all  his  rivals.* 

*  Lord  Chatham  was  the  favorite  of  his  countrymen  in  his  own  day,  and  the 
admiration  of  succeeding  generations  ;  but  it  is  curious  to  obserre  the  strictures 
passed  upon  his  character  by  that  sarcastic  and  sagacious  critic,  Horace  Wul- 
pole,  who,  in  his  celebrated  "Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  III.,"  has  thus 
expressed  himself  in  reference  to  different  periods  of  the  life  of  this  hero  : 

"  Lord  Chatham  had  already  commenced  that  extraordinary  scene  of  seclu- 
sion of  himself  which  he  afterwards  carried  to  an  excess  that  passed,  and  no 
wonder,  for  a  long  access  oi  frenzy."    P.  342. 

"  The  mad,  situation  to  which  Lord  Chatham  had  reduced  himself"  Ih., 
p.  402. 

"  Ta& pride  and  foUij  of  Lord  Chatham."    lb.,  p.  402. 

"  The  xcildness  of  Lord  Chatham  batlled  all  policj'."     Ih.,  p.  41G. 

"  The  madness  or  mad  conduct  of  Lord  Chatham."    Vol.  iii.,  p.  67. 

"  Lord  Chatham's  wild  actions  of  passion  and  scorn."    Tb.,  p.  435. 

"  The  Chancellor  Camden  had  given  many  hints  of  his  iricnd's  frenzy."  Yol. 
iii.,  p.  251. 

"  As  if  there  were  dignity  in  folly,  and  magic  in  perverseness—as  if  the  way 
to  govern  mankind  was  to  insult  their  understandings — the  conduct  of  Lord 
Chatham  was  the  'very  reverse  of  common  sense,  and  made  up  of  such  undis- 
sembled  scorn  of  all  the  world,  that  his  friends  could  not  palliate  it,  nor  his  ene- 
mies be  blamed  for  resolving  it  into  madness.  He  was  scarce  lame,  and  even 
paraded  through  the  town  in  a  morning  to  take  the  air ;  yet  he  neither  went  to 
the  king,  nor  sufiFered  any  of  the  ministers  [his  colleagues]  to  come  to  him."  Yol. 
ii.,  p.  425. 

"  Lord  Chatham  might  have  given  firmness  and  almost  tranquillity  to  the 
country ;  might  have  gone  farther  towards  recruiting  our  finances  than  any  rea- 

10 


218  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEOEGES. 

The  general  election  which  took  place  in  1768  to  supply 
vacancies  in  parliament,  was  characterized  by  unusual  disorder. 
The  current  price  of  boroughs  was  greatly  increased  by  the  pro- 
fuse expenditure  of  money  exhibited  by  the  ambitious  and 
wealthy  nabobs  who,  having  returned  from  Hindostan  with  vast 
fortunes,  desired  to  obtain  seats  and  influence  in  the  British 
Legislature.  So  desperate  were  the  contests  for  seats  that 
many  opulent  candidates  were  utterly  ruined.  The  abuses 
which  prevailed  were  carried  to  their  utmost  extremes  in  the 
county  of  Middlesex ;  and  from  that  place  the  notorious  Wilkes 
was  returned,  after  a  contest  of  unequalled  violence  and  bitter- 
ness. This  demagogue  had  been  outlawed  for  his  contempt  of 
court,  in  not  appearing  to  answer  a  previous  charge  in  West- 
minster Hall.  He  had  remained  on  the  continent  during  several 
years.  At  length  he  returned  to  London,  immediately  before 
the  election,  and  appearing  publicly  at  Guildhall,  had  first  offered 
himself  as  the  popular  candidate  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  metrop- 
olis. He  proclaimed  himself  the  champion  of  free  speech,  of  a 
free  press,  and  of  the  um:"estricted  rights  of  the  people.  In  Lon- 
don, however,  he  was  ignominiously  defeated.  He  was  not  dis- 
couraged by  this  untoward  event ;  but  immediately  offered  him- 
self to  the  electors  of  Middlesex.  Here  he  obtained  a  decisive 
majority,  and  the  exultation  of  the  populace  was  unbounded.  They 
paraded  the  streets,  illuminated  their  houses,  and  insulted  the 
chief  magistrate  Harley,  in  consequence  of  his  known  repugnance 
to  the  demagogue. 

This  triumph  was  at  the  same  time  accompanied  by  a  morti- 
fying defeat.  On  the  suits  which  had  been  previously  instituted 
against  Wilkes  he  was  condemned  to  suffer  two  years  imprison- 
ment, to  pay  a  fine  of  a  thousand  pounds,  and  give  security  for 
his   good  behavior  for   seven   years.      The  populace   rescued 

sonable  man  could  have  expected ;  but,  alas !  his  talents  were  not  adequate  to 
that  task.  The  multiplication-table  did  not  admit  of  being  treated  as  epic,  and 
Lord  Chatham  had  but  that  one  style.  Whether  really  out  of  his  senses,  or  con- 
scious how  much  the  mountebank  had  concurred  to  make  the  great  man,  he 
plunged  deeper  and  deeper  into  retreat,  and  left  the  nation  a  prey  to  faction  and 
to  insufficient  persons  that  he  had  chosen  for  his  coadjutors."    Vol.  ii.,  p.  433. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIRD.  219 

him  from  the  hands  of  the  officers,  as  they  were  conducting 
him  to  prison,  and  then  carried  him  in  triumph  through  the  city. 
Wilkes  afterward  surrendered  himself  to  the  officers  of  the 
crown,  and  went  to  prison.  When  Parliament  subsequently 
met,  he  was  expelled  from  the  House  by  an  overwhelming  major- 
ity ;  although  the  demagogue  mustered  not  a  few  ardent  and  able 
advocates  among  the  members.  A  new  writ  was  issued  for  the 
holding  of  another  election  in  Middlesex,  and  Wilkes  was  again 
returned  by  a  still  greater  majority.  The  house  was  now  placed 
in  a  critical  dilemma.  If  they  persisted  in  their  course  they 
might  endanger  the  tranquillity  of  the  nation,  and  the  security 
of  the  government.  If  they  receded,  they  would  incur  universal 
contempt.  After  considerable  deliberation,  the  House  resolved 
that  "  Mr.  Wilkes  having  been  once  expelled,  was  incapable  of 
sitting  in  the  same  Parliament,  and  that  the  election  was  there- 
fore void."  A  third  writ  was  immediately  issued,  and  Wilkes  was 
a  third  time  chosen.  In  these  proceedings  we  have  a  remarkable 
and  amusing  illustration  of  English  obstinacy  and  determination. 
In  this  dilemma  Colonel  Luttrell,  a  member  of  the  House,  resign- 
ed his  seat,  and  offered  himself  as  a  rival  candidate  to  the  elec- 
tors of  Middlesex,  being  assured  by  those  who  controlled  the 
action  of  the  House  that,  in  any  case,  he  would  be  received  by 
Parliament  as  the  member  elect.  A  fourth  election  took  place ; 
Wilkes  was  again  chosen  by  a  vast  majority ;  and  he  was  re- 
turned by  the  sheriffs  :  but  Luttrell  having  presented  a  petition 
for  the  seat  to  the  House,  he  was  declared,  after  a  long  and  fu- 
rious debate,  to  have  been  duly  elected.* 

The  whole  nation  was  now  con^-ulsed  with  mingled  rage  and 
consternation.  Never  before  during  the  long  series  of  genera- 
tions in  which  the  British  Constitution  had  existed  and  flour- 
ished, had  such  a  perilous  crisis  occurred.  The  occasion  was 
regarded  by  reflecting  persons  of  all  classes  as  decisive  of  the 
future  fate  of  the  government.     The  Commons  had  thus  taken 

*  See  "  Parliamentary  History  of  England  from  the  Earliest  Period  till  1803," 
Vol.  xvi.,  p.  262.  The  votes  cast  for  Wilkes  on  the  fourth  election  were  1,243  ; 
those  given  for  Luttrell  were  296. 


220  HISTOET   OF   THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

high  ground,  and  had  consistently  adhered  to  it  throughout. 
The  electors  of  Middlesex  had  acted  with  equal  resolution  and 
consistency.  Other  obnoxious  persons  had  been  formerly  ex- 
pelled from  the  house  by  its  own  action.  Robert  Wjilpole  had 
incurred  this  flite  in  1711,  Sergeant  Comyns  in  1715,  and  Bed- 
ford in  1727.  But  in  all  these  instances  the  decision  of  the  Com- 
mons had  been  in  accordance  with  the  popular  will,  and  no  pop- 
ular disturbance  had  been  apprehended.  The  present  instance 
was  different  in  its  nature ;  and  great  fears  were  apprehended  that 
the  ligatures  which  bound  the  nation  together,  would  be  severed 
by  the  violent  struggles  through  which  it  might  at  this  crisis  be 
compelled  to  pass.  Nevertheless,  the  firm  position  taken  by  the 
house  eventually  prevailed  over  popular  opposition  and  prevalent 
fears ;  and  Wilkes  having  been  finally  expelled,  ventured  no 
longer  to  intrude  into  the  legislature.  His  supporters  subsided 
for  a  time  into  quiet  submission  to  the  will  of  the  Parliament 
which  had  been  so  plainly  and  so  singularly  expressed  on  this 
memorable  occasion. 

In  1769  two  acts  of  importance  were  passed  by  the  legisla- 
ture. The  charter  of  the  East  India  Company  was  renewed  for 
five  years,  and  the  iniquitous  schemes  of  this  gigantic  monopoly 
were  again  commended  and  approved  by  the  representatives  of 
the  nation.  During  the  same  session  the  private  debts  of 
George  III.  were  liquidated  by  a  vote  of  the  house  from  the  re- 
sources of  the  national  treasury,  to  the  amount  of  five  hundred 
thousand  pounds.  This  remarkable  act  of  liberality  was  per- 
formed, even  without  the  formality  of  a  scrutiny  having  been 
made  into  the  specific  details  which  swelled  the  sum  total  to  so 
enormous  an  amount. 

The  restless  spirit  of  the  arch-agitator  "Wilkes  did  not  per- 
mit the  public  mind  to  repose  for  any  length  of  time,  in  refer 
ence  to  his  claims  as  member  elect  to  Parliament  for  Middle- 
sex ;  and  this  subject  was  again  dragged  before  the  public  mind 
by  the  able  and  crushing  strictures  of  a  powerful  but  unknown 
advocate  of  the  interests  of  the  popular  favorite.  The  first  letter 
of  the  terrible  Junius  bears  date  January  21st,  1769.     The  re- 


LIFE   AND   REIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  THIRD.  221 

markable  ability  displayed  in  the  compositions  which  appeared 
m  the  Public  Advertiser  under  this  name,  immediately  attracted 
universal  attention.  Each  number  which  appeared  carried  terror 
into  the  ranks  of  the  ministry  and  their  supporters  ;  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  letter  of  Junius  was  heralded  in  whispers  of  appre- 
hensive agony  from  mouth  to  mouth,  as  if  some  insidious,  un- 
known, but  deadly  foe  had  invaded  their  most  secure  hiding- 
places,  threatening  them  with  destruction.  In  April,  1769, 
Junius  addressed  the  Duke  of  Grafton  in  reference  to  the  claims 
of  Wilkes,  and  aroused  anew  the  popular  enthusiasm  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  spirit  of  the  people  was  again  aroused.  '  The* free- 
holders of  the  county  of  Middlesex  presented  a  petition  to  the 
king,  in  which  they  set  forth  their  grievances  in  reference  to  the 
election  and  the  expulsion  of  Wilkes.  The  city  of  London  pre- 
sented a  petition  to  the  monarch  to  the  same  effect,  and  demand- 
incT  an  immediate  dissolution  of  Parliament.  Similar  memorials 
came  from  fifteen  counties  of  England;  setting  forth  the  injustice 
which  had  been  done  to  popular  rights  in  the  person  of  Wilkes, 
and  demanding  that  a  proper  indemnification  should  be  made 
therefor. 

But  these  wise  and  patriotic  appeals  remained  unheard.  The 
Parliament  indicated  their  resolution  to  persist  in  their  course 
against  W^ilkes  and  his  advocates,  by  commanding  the  Attorney- 
General  to  file  a  bill  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  against  Wood- 
fall,  the  publisher  of  the  Public  Advertiser,  for  uttering  a  false  and 
malicious  libel.  The  case  was  tried  before  the  learned  and  famous 
Lord  Mansfield,  and  the  verdict  of  the  jury  was  Guilty  of  printing 
and  publishing  only  ;  which  was  in  effect  an  acquittal  of  the  de- 
fendant. Lord  Chatham,  who  had  by  this  time,  after  a  seclusion 
of  two  years,  returned  to  his  place  in  Parliament,  endeavored  to 
allay  the  existing  uneasiness  of  the  public  mind,  by  introducing 
a  motion  to  the  effect  that  the  house  would  take  into  considera- 
tion the  causes  of  the  discontents  which  prevailed  in  tlie  nation, 
and  especially  the  late  proceedings  in  the  Commons  against  Mr. 
Wilkes.  But  his  motion  was  opposed  by  Lord  Mansfield,  and 
eventually  lost.     The  same  measure  was  subsequently  proposed 


222  msTOET  OF  the  four  geoeges. 

by  the  :Marquis  of  Rockingham,  on  the  20th  of  January,  1770 ; 
and  the  measure,  in  consequence  of  the  critical  state  of  the  public 
mind,  was  sustained  by  a  majority  of  the  members.  The  investi- 
gation of  the  universal  discontents  which  agitated  the  nation  was 
appomted  to  commence  on  the  second  day  of  the  ensuing  Feb- 
ruary ;  at  which  time  it  was  determined  that  the  house  should  re- 
solve itself  into  a  committee  of  inquiry.  But  before  the  arrival  of 
that  momentous  day,  on  the  preceding  28th  of  January,  the 
prime  minister,  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  unexpectedly  and  suddenly 
resigned.*  This  act  took  the  nation  by  surprise ;  but  its  motive 
was  readily  divined.  The  crafty  peer  endeavored  thereby  to 
shield  himself  from  the  overwhelming  flood  of  obloquy  which 
would  follow  his  retention  of  an  office,  the  possession  of  which 
on  his  part,  had  led  to  so  many  and  such  great  popular  evils. 
The  vacant  office  was  immediately  filled  by  Lord  North ;  and 
thus  in  February,  1770,  one  of  the  most  memorable  administrOr 
tions  presented  by  the  whole  range  of  English  history  began. 

*  Horace  Walpole,  in  his  "  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  III."  thus  ex- 
plains the  causes  of  the  resignation  of  the  Duke  of  Grafton  at  this  crisis.  His 
opinions  must  always  be  taken  cum  grano  salts. 

"His  fall  was  universally  ascribed  to  his  pusillanimity ;  but  whether  be- 
trayed by  his  fears  or  his  friends,  he  had  certainly  been  the  chief  author  of  his 
own  disgrace.  His  TuivgJitiness,  indolence,  reserve,  and  improvidence,  had  con- 
jured up  the  storm,  but  his  olstinacy  and  feebleness — always  relaying  each  other 
and  always  mal-d-propos — were  the  radical  cause  of  all  the  numerous  absurdities 
that  discolored  his  conduct  and  exposed  him  to  deserved  reproaches ;  nor  had  he 
depth  of  understanding  to  counterbalance  the  defects  of  his  temper.  The  detaDs 
of  his  conduct  were  as  vjeah  and  preposterous  as  the  great  lines  of  it."  P.  70, 
vol.  iv. 


CHAPTEE    Y. 


Lord  North  becomes  Premier— Henewal  of  Wilkes's  Case— The  Stamp  Act— "Wilkes 
elected  an  Alderman  of  London — His  Contest  with  the  Court — Growing  Troubles 
with  the  American  Colonies — Benjamin  Franklin  in  England — First  Convention 
of  the  American  Congress — Petition  presented  to  George  III.  by  Wilkes  as  Mayor 
of  London — Commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  "War — Hostilities  between  Eng- 
land and  France — Disturbances  in  Ireland — Death  of  Lord  Chatham. 


Lord  North,  by  his  entrance  into  the  British  ministry,  inherited 
a  legacy  of  troubles.  The  nation  was  still  divided  in  reference 
to  the  conflict  between  the  Court  and  Wilkes,  for  such  in  reality 
was  the  nature  of  the  dispute ;  while  the  disaffection  of  the 
American  Colonies  remained  undiminished.  The  friends  of 
Wilkes  moved  in  the  House  of  Commons  that  "  the  house  ought 
to  judge  of  elections  by  the  law  of  the  land  and  by  the  former 
custom  and  practice  of  Parliament."  This  motion  was  intended 
to  be  followed  by  others  setting  forth  that  the  former  expulsion 
of  Wilkes  by  the  Commons  was  illegal  and  unjust.  To  avert 
the  long  and  furious  contest  which  would  inevitably  have  ensued, 
Lord  North  adroitly  amended  this  motion,  which  had  been  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Dowdeswell,  by  adding,  "  that  the  judgment  for- 
merly passed  by  the  house  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Wilkes  was  agree- 
able to  the  law  of  the  land,  and  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of 
Parliament."  This  amendment  was  carried  by  two  hundred  and 
twenty-four  votes  against  a  hundred  and  eighty  ;  and  thus  for  a 
short  time  the  subject  was  laid  over,  but  not  finally  settled  or 
disposed  of.  In  May,  1770,  Lord  Chatham,  who,  being  out  of 
the  ministry,  was  necessarily  in  opposition,  moved  in  the  House 
of  Peers  a  bill  for  reversing  the  judgment  of  expulsion  passed  by 


224:  HISTOKT   OF  THE   FOUE   GEORGES. 

the  Commons  in  the  case  of  "VVilkes.  But  his  proposition  was 
lost  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  after  a  protracted  and  animated 
debate. 

The  attention  of  Parliament  was  for  a  time  diverted  from  the 
case  of  Wilkes  and  its  attendant  difficulties,  which  seemed  to 
have  become  perennial  and  endless,  to  those  connected  with  the 
American  Colonies.  Lord  North  had  readily  discerned  that  the 
taxes  which  had  been  imposed  in  the  colonies,  upon  the  several 
objects  of  domestic  use  already  enumerated,  could  never  be  col- 
lected, and  might  produce  the  most  disastrous  effects  upon  the 
unity  and  peace  of  the  empire.  He  therefore  moved  the  repeal 
of  the  obnoxious  taxes  on  all  the  articles  except  tea.  He  sup- 
posed it  to  be  proper  to  retain  a  duty  on  something,  in  order 
thereby  to  indicate  the  still  existing  supremacy  of  Britain.  It 
was  contended  by  the  ministry  and  their  supporters,  that  a  total 
repeal  could  not  be  made  until  the  dignity  of  the  mother  country 
had  been  vindicated  by  the  submission  of  the  colonies  to  her 
power,  as  indicated  by  their  obedience  in  reference  to  this  point. 
After  a  long  discussion  the  minister  carried  his  motion ;  yet  only 
by  an  insignificant  majority  of  sixty -two.  The  tax  on  tea  re- 
mained ;  and  that  tax,  though  utterly  insignificant  in  itself,  after- 
ward became  the  cause  of  that  revolutionary  struggle  which  pro- 
duced the  dismemberment  of  the  British  Empire,  and  gave 
existence  to  the  greatest  republic  of  modern  times. 

During  the  session  of  Parliament  of  1771,  the  disturbances 
made  by  the  arch-demagogue  Wilkes  again  assumed  a  formid- 
able importance.  Two  printers,  named  Thompson  and  Wheble, 
were  arrested  for  reporting  the  speeches  delivered  in  the  Com- 
mons. A  resolution  was  passed  commanding  them  to  appear 
and  answer  to  this  charge  at  the  bar  of  the  house.  The  printers 
paid  no  attention  to  this  summons  ;  when  the  house  resolved  that 
they  should  be  taken  into  custody  by  the  sergeant-at-arms.  The 
accused  absconded,  and  a  reward  of  fifty  pounds  was  offered  for 
their  apprehension.  Wheble  was  soon  arrested,  and  taken  be- 
fore Wilkes,  who  had  been  elected  an  alderman  of  London,  for 
a  hearing.     As  might  have  been  anticipated,  Wilkes  discharged 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE  THIRD.  225 

the  defendant  from  custody,  and  further  bound  him  over  to  pros- 
ecute the  person  who  had  apprehended  him.  The  impudence 
of  Wilkes  even  went  much  further.  He  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Earl  of  Halifax,  then  Secretary  of  State,  in  which  he  asserted 
that  Wheble  had  been  apprehended  in  violation  of  the  rights  of 
an  Englishman,  as  well  as  of  the  chartered  privileges  of  a  citizen 
of  London.  Other  printers  had  by  this  time  been  arrested  for 
the  same  offence.  They  w^ere  taken  before  Crosby  the  Mayor, 
and  Wilkes  and  Oliver,  Aldermen  of  London,  their  cases  heard, 
the  warrant  of  arrest  declared  illegal,  the  prisoners  discharged, 
and  the  messenger  of  the  Commons  committed  to  prison  in  de- 
fault of  bail,  for  having  made  a  false  azTcst. 

For  this  defiance  of  the  authority  of  Parliament,  the  offend- 
ing magistrates  were  summoned  to  appear  at  the  bar  of  the 
house.     Crosby  and  Oliver  obeyed,  and  after  a  hearing  and  ar- 
gument upon  their  conduct,  they  were  committed  prisoners  to 
the  Tower.     Wilkes  had  refused  to  appear,  except  in  his  seat  as 
member  for  the  county  of  ]\Iiddlesex.     Crosby  and  Oliver  availed 
themselves  of  the  writ  of  Habeas   Corpus,  which  they  obtained 
from  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.     But  they  were  remanded 
after  a  protracted  hearing ;  and  they  remained  in  custody  till  the 
end  of  the  session ;  w'hen,  by  operation  of  law,  they  were  dis- 
charged.     The   king  was  further  provoked   at  this  period,  by 
another  petition  from  the  city  of  London,  remonstrating  against 
an  invasion  of  their  rights  in  some  encroachments  which  were 
made  upon  the  river  Thames  by  public  embankments.     This 
memorial  produced  no  effect  except  to  irritate  the  sovereign,  who 
had  at  this  period  to  endure  the  additional  misfortune  of  the 
death  of  his  mother.     Augusta,  the  Prince-s  Dowager  of  Wales, 
died  on  the  8th  of  February,  1772,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  her 
age.     Important  changes  also  took  place  in  the  cabinet.     The 
Earl  of  Harcourt  became  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland ;  Charles 
Jenkinson  was  appointed  vice-treasurer  of  the  same  ;  and  Charles 
James  Fox,  a  young  statesman  and  orator,  who  afterward  filled 
a  place  in  English  parliamentary  history  second  only  to  that  of 
10* 


226  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

the  Earl  of  Chatham,  aj^peared  upon  the  scene,  and  took  a  seat 
at  the  board  of  the  Treasury. 

During  1773  and  several  succeeding  years,  the  peace  of  the 
nation  was  not  disturbed  at  home  by  any  events  of  importance ; 
nor  -was  the  life  of  George  III.  signalized  by  any  domestic  inci- 
dent of  interest.     The  subject  which  occupied  the  chief  attention 
of  the  king,  the  parliament,  and  the  people,  was  the  disaffection 
of  the  American  Colonies,     Lord  North,  who  still  retained  the 
post  of  prime  minister,  was  not  unwilling  to  conciliate.     His 
nature  was  neither  unreasonable  nor  tyrannical ;  nor  was  his  in- 
tellect narrow  and  superficial.    But  events  had  rapidly  transpired 
in  the  hostile  and  restive  colonies,  which  soon  placed  all  possi- 
bility of  adjustment  and  reconciliation  out  of  the  question.     The 
tea  which  had  been  consigned  to  the  merchants  of  Boston,  and 
upon  which  a  light  duty  had  been  imposed,  was  violently  de- 
stroyed.    A  spirit  of  rebellion  against  British  rule,  and  a  deter- 
mination to  achieve  a  total  independence  and  separation  from  the 
mother  country,  rapidly  pervaded  all  the  colonies.    They  seemed 
willing  to  pay  millions  for  defence,  but  not  a  penny  for  tribute. 
The  assembly  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  addressed  to  the 
legislatures  of  the  other  colonies  a  circular  letter,  recommending 
them  to  discuss  measures  which  might  lead  to  resistance  to  the 
tyranny  of  Britain,  and  to  freedom  from  her  power.     The  same 
assembly  voted  an  address  to  the  king,  in  which  they  boldly  de- 
manded that  he  should  remove  the  governor  and  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor for  ever  from  the  province.     Benjamin  Franklin  presented 
the  petition  in  person  to  Lord  Dartmouth,  as  the  agent  of  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  England.     The  ultimate  result 
of  this  step  was,  that  a  bill  was  introduced  into  Parliament  for 
the  purpose  of  still  further  encroaching  upon  the  liberties  of  that 
colony,  which  was  regarded  as  the  leader  in  all  the  rebellious 
movements  which  had  as  yet  taken  place  in  America.     This  bill 
provided  that  the  nomination  of  councillors,  judges,  and  magis- 
trates of  all  kinds  should  be  vested  in  the  British  crown,  and 
should  be  removable  at  pleasure.     It  was  passed  by  an  over- 
whelming majority  in  May,  1774.     A  military  force  was  sent  to 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE   THIED.  227 

Boston  at  the  same  time,  under  the  command  of  General  Gage, 
to  overawe  the  rebellious  descendants  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers 
into  submission  to  the  demands  of  their  tyrants.  lie  conveyed 
to  that  city  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that,  as  a  punishment  for 
past  contumacy,  the  port  of  Bpston  had  been  removed,  by  an  act 
of  Parliament,  to  the  town  of  Salem. 

These  outrages  rapidly  brought  matters  to  a  decisive  and 
portentous  crisis  throughout  the  colonies.  A  Congress  composed 
of  delegates  from  all  of  them  convened  in  September,  1774,  at 
Philadelphia.  That  Congress  passed  resolutions  sympathizing 
with  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  in  its  conflict  with  the  British 
monarch.  It  also  prepared  an  address  to  the  king,  and  a  memo- 
rial to  the  British  people,  in  both  of  which  their  alleged  griev- 
ances were  set  forth  in  decisive  language.  The  British  monarch 
and  people  seemed  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  these  appeals.  Petitions 
presented  to  Parliament  by  those  subjects  who  were  opposed  to 
the  policy  of  the  court,  were  consigned  to  the  Committee  of 
Oblivion.  The  Parliament  refused  to  hear  evidence  in  reference 
to  the  allegations  contained  in  the  petition  of  Congress  to  the 
king,  A  bill  introduced  by  Lord  Chatham  for  the  purpose  of 
settling  the  troubles  in  the  colonies  was  rejected  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. The  colonies  were  at  last  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of 
open  rebellion  against  the  legitimate  authority  of  their  gracious 
sovereign.  A  petition  which  was  presented  to  the  king  by 
Wilkes  in  person,  who  had  been  elected  Lord  Mayor  of  London, 
and  then  represented  the  corporation,  expressing  the  abhorrence 
of  the  citizens  of  the  capital  of  the  measures  of  oppression  which 
had  been  pursued  by  the  government,  to  the  injury  of  their  fellow- 
subjects  in  the  colonies,  was  spurned  with  contempt  from  the 
foot  of  the  throne.  The  policy  adopted  by  Lord  North,  and  by 
the  court  and  ministry  under  his  guidance,  was  intended  to  up- 
hold the  dignity  and  supremacy  of  Britain  in  America  ;  but  the 
results  actually  produced  were  vastly  different  from  that  proposed. 
While  the  British  government  became  more  obstinate,  the  col- 
onists became  more  resolute  and  rebellious.  Preparations  for 
hostilities  were  then  made  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 


228  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

the  land.  The  first  blood  shed  in  the  great  cause  of  liberty  in 
the  New  World,  flowed  at  Lexington.  Brother  had  armed 
against  brother,  and  a  conflict  had  at  last  begun  which  could  end 
by  no  compromise ;  but  which  must  result  either  in  total  subjec- 
tion or  in  complete  enfranchisement.  The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill 
soon  followed ;  and  the  whole  continent  was  thrown  into  a  frenzy 
of  patriotic  ardor  and  excitement.  George  Washington — a  hero 
whose  glory  now  overshadows  the  civilized  world  with  a  radiance 
purer,  nobler,  and  brighter,  than  that  which  has  been  achieved 
by  any  other  mortal — having  taken  command  of  the  continental 
army,  drove  Lord  Howe  from  the  heights  of  Boston,  and  re- 
leased that  capital  from  its  perilous  position.  On  the  4th  of 
July,  1776,  the  colonies  proclaimed  by  their  Congress  assembled 
at  Philadelphia,  their  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  and  then  en- 
sued all  the  thrilling  and  memorable  incidents  of  a  seven  years' 
struggle  for  deliverance  from  the  power  of  a  detested  tyrant. 
General  Howe  obtained  a  victory  on  Long  Island.  Washington 
changed  the  tide  of  battle  at  Trenton.  And  while  the  respective 
combatants  fought  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
thirteen  colonies  with  variable  success,  the  determination  of  the 
king  and  his  ministers  remained  unmoved  by  calamities  and  de- 
feats, by  pojDular  threatenings,  and  by  the  opposition  of  enlight- 
ened patriots  in  Parliament.  In  vain  did  the  great  Qiatham 
exert  his  waning  powers  to  their  utmost  in  opposition  to  the 
war.  In  vain,  with  a  degree  of  pathos  and  eloquence  which  in 
one  so  aged  and  feeble  has  never  been  equalled,  did  he  condemn 
not  only  the  principles  for  which  the  war  was  waged,  but  also 
the  means  which  were  employed  to  carry  it  on.  In  vain  did  he 
appeal  to  the  right  reverend  prelates  who  sat  near  him  in  the 
hall  which  witnessed  his  final  efforts,  by  every  consideration  of 
religion  and  humanity,  to  oppose  some  of  the  measures  thus  em- 
ployed. In  vain  did  he  invoke  the  spirit  and  humanity  of  his 
countrymen,  appeal  to  their  wisdom  and  prudence,  and  urge 
every  consideration  which  should  influence  sagacious,  profound, 
and  liberal  statesmen,  in  opposition  to  that  unjust  and  tyrannical 
crusade  against  the  most  sacred  rights  of  man.     And  it  was  iu 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   TIIIED.  229 

vain  that  the  greatest  of  British  statesmen  perished  at  last,  in  the 
midst  of  his  exertions  in  support  of  a  bill  which  proposed,  in  the 
British  Parliament,  the  immediate  and  complete  recognition  of 
the  independence  of  the  American  colonies* 

While  these  and  other  disasters  were  occurring  to  the  British 
arms  and  supremacy  in  America,  defeat  followed  defeat  in  other 
portions  of  the  world.  The  English  flag  was  dishonored  by  Ad- 
miral Keppel  and  Sir  Hugh  Pelissier,  in  their  conflicts  with  the 
French,  who  had  become  the  allies  of  the  rebellious  colonies. 
St.  Vincent  and  Grenada  were  captured  by  the  fleets  of  that 
power.  The  combined  armaments  of  Trance  and  Spain  boldly 
entered  the  British  channel,  and  haughtily  defied  the  power  of 
the  mistress  of  the  seas.  The  adjacent  kingdom  of  Ireland  was 
disturbed  by  public  discontents,  and  in  the  Irish  Parliament,  an 
address  was  voted  to  the  king  demanding  the  obnoxious  boon  of 
free  trade,  as  the  only  means  of  saving  the  nation  from  impend- 
ing ruin.  Thus  on  every  hand  w^as  the  mind  of  George  III. 
harassed  by  the  misfortunes  which  attended  his  administration 
of  afftiirs  in  almost  every  portion  of  his  dominions.  His  inten- 
tions in  most  cases  were  doubtless  good,  but  his  policy  was 
short-sighted  and  imbecile  in  the  extreme;  nor  is  it  singular 
that  this  long  and  astonishing  series  of  adverse  events  should 
have  gradually  enfeebled,  and  should  eventually  have  overthrown, 
a  mind  whose  powers  were  never  great,  and  whose  obstinacy  in 
adhering  to  his  once-formed  purposes,  was  its  most  prominent 
and  most  pernicious  attribute. 

*  Lord  Chatham  expired  on  the  11th  of  May,  1778,  in  the  seventieth  year  of 
his  age,  at  his  favorite  villa  of  Hayes,  in  Kent.  The  memorable  scene  connected 
with  his  last  appearance  in  the  House  of  Lords  has  been  frequently  described, 
and  is  familiarly  known. 


CHAPTEE   VI. 


Domestic  Life  of  George  III. — His  Public  and  Private  Cares — Eepeal  of  the  Laws 
against  Koman  Catholics — First  Appearance  of  the  second  'William  Pitt  in  Par- 
liament— Affairs  of  the  British  East  India  Company — The  Eise  and  Progress  of  that 
vast  Empire — Outrages  and  Tyranny  which  disgraced  its  history — Administration 
of  Warren  Hastings — Incidents  of  the  War  in  America — Second  Administration  of 
Lord  Eockingham — Proposals  of  Peace  with  the  Colonies  in  America — Provisional 
Articles — Final  Adjustment  of  the  Treaty. 


The  domestic  life  of  George  III.  at  this  period  presented  but  few 
incidents  worthy  of  notice.  There  was  a  total  absence  in  his 
case,  of  all  those  private  scandals,  personal  quarrels,  and  court 
intrigues  which,  in  the  annals  of  the  majority  of  princes,  constitute 
no  insignificant  portion  of  their  history.  After  the  birth  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  other  children  were  successively  added  to  the  roy- 
al household.  Augustus,  Duke  of  Sussex,  was  born  in  1763;  Adol- 
phus,  Duke  of  Cambridge,  in  1774  ;  Mary,  Duchess  of  Glouces- 
ter, in  1776.  The  chief  attention  of  the  queen  was  employed  in 
the  government  and  education  of  her  children  ;  and  the  king  and 
queen  both  deserve  praise  for  the  share  of  domestic  virtue  which 
they  possessed,  and  the  example  of  private  excellence  which  they 
exhibited  both  to  their  family  and  to  the  world. 

The  greatest  solicitude  of  George  III.  was  devoted  to  the 
affairs  of  his  government.  The  nation  was  in  an  agitated  state. 
Faction  raged  at  home,  and  hostilities  prevailed  abroad.  The 
monarch  regarded  himself  as  responsible  in  a  moral  sense  for  the 
measures  adopted  by  his  government ;  and  hence  the  results  of 
those  measures,  when  pernicious  or  unfortunate,  sorely  wounded 
him.  It  was  the  long-continued  state  of  mental  excitement  into 
which  the  untoward  current  of  public  affairs  threw  him,  which 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   TlIIED.  231 

finally  produced  the  mental  disease  under  -svliich  many  years  of 
his  life  were  subsequently  passed. 

In  1780  an  effort  was  made  by  the  Opposition  in  Parliament 
to  repeal  the  laws  against  Roman  Catholics.  One  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  persons  signed  a  petition  to  that  effect,  which 
was  presented  by  Sir  George  Gordon  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
Cries  of  "  No  Popery"  resounded  through  the  streets  of  Lon- 
don. All  the  popish  chapels  in  the  city  were  demolished  by  the 
mob.  Even  the  private  residences  of  distinguished  Catholics 
were  assailed.  The  aspect  of  affairs  became  formidable,  and  it 
was  at  one  time  apprehended  that  the  capital  would  become  the 
prey  of  the  flames.  In  this  crisis  the  king  displayed  consider- 
able energy.  He  transmitted  general  orders  to  the  military  to 
fire  on  the  rioters,  and  to  pimish  their  ringleaders  with  severity. 
Many  hundreds  were  slain,  and  Sir  George  Gordon  was  arrest- 
ed for  high  treason.  A  very  great  number  were  imprisoned, 
and  their  trial  was  quickly  commenced  and  concluded  before 
Lord  Loughborough,  the  Chief  Justice.  This  energetic  magis- 
trate punished  the  offenders  with  a  degree  of  severity  which  had 
never  been  equalled  in  England  since  the  days  of  the  ignominious 
Jeffreys ;  and  soon  all  remains  of  popular  turbulence  and  dis- 
order were  obliterated. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  1780,  the  fourteenth  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain  was  dissolved  by  proclamation,  and  a  new  Par- 
liament convened  on  the  31st  of  October  succeeding.  It  was  at 
this  period  and  during  this  session  that  the  second  William  Pitt, 
second  son  of  the  great  Earl  of  Chatham,  made  his  first  appear- 
ance in  that  house  of  Commons,  of  which  he,  like  his  father,  be- 
came subsequently  the  most  distinguished  ornament.  He  was  a 
person  of  extraordinary  talents,  and  every  way  adapted  to  the 
achievement  of  an  illustrious  figure  in  the  turbulent  and  perilous 
history  of  his  times.  He  soon  became  the  chief  personage  in  the 
concluding  portion  of  the  reign  of  George  III. 

Although  the  events  of  the  American  war  still  continued  to 
occupy  a  considerable  share  of  the  attention  of  the  king  and  na- 
tion, there  was  another  portion  of  the  globe  which  possessed  at 


232  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOIJK   GEORGES. 

this  period  almost  an  equal  interest  in  their  estimation.  During 
twenty  years  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company  gradually  in- 
creased in  importance  ;  their  value  and  profitableness  were  con- 
stantly augmented ;  and  the  policy  which  was  pursued  by  the 
Company  became  a  matter  of  great  and  absorbing  concern.  Tlie 
heroism  of  Lord  Clive,  then  a  youthful  adventurer,  had  van- 
quished the  numerous  and  tumultuous  native  armies  of  Bengal 
and  the  Carnatic ;  and  a  territory  more  extensive  and  perhaps 
more  opulent  than  the  British  Islands,  was  in  a  short  time  added 
to  the  possession  of  the  British  crown.  After  achieving  victories, 
and  performing  prodigies  of  valor,  which  have  scarcely  a  parallel 
in  liistory,  Clive  returned  to  England  in  1760.  Mr.  Vansittart 
was  appointed  Governor-General  of  India  in  his  stead.  In  1764 
Vansittart  returned  to  England,  and  Mr.  Spencer  occupied  his 
place,  until  Lord  Clive  revisited  the  scene  of  his  former  glory,  and 
again  assumed  the  supreme  command.  On  the  second  resigna- 
tion of  Lord  Clive,  Mr.  Veerlst,  and  after  him,  Mr.  Cartier,  be- 
came in  succession  Governors.  These  were  men  of  compara- 
tive insignificance,  and  added  no  lustre  to  British  arms  or  diplo- 
macy during  their  administrations.  But  they  were  succeeded  by 
Warren  Hastings,  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  who  ever 
lived ;  and  whose  bold  and  capacious  mind  ventured  upon  the 
execution  of  measures  which  exerted  an  indelible  influence  on  the 
destinies  of  fifty  millions  of  people.  The  chief  aim  of  the  policy 
pursued  by  Hastings  during  the  many  memorable  years  of  his 
supremacy  in  India,  was  to  extort  from  the  inhabitants  whom 
British  arms  had  subjugated,  the  most  incredible  sums  of  money ; 
to  grind  the  unfortunate  population  into  the  very  dust ;  to  out- 
rage all  their  religious  prejudices  and  convictions,  if  they  inter- 
fered with  his  purpose  ;  and  while  he  made  himself  popular  with 
the  Company,  and  its  grasping  servants  and  members  of  high 
and  low  degree,  to  become  in  substance  the  curse  and  scourge  of 
the  unhappy  and  imbecile  myriads  whom  the  fortunes  of  war  had 
placed  beneath  the  iron  rod  of  his  power.  During  his  infamous 
administration,  many  native  princes  were  deposed  without  the 
shadow  of  an  excuse ;  and  the  government  of  the  Company  was 


LIFE   AKD   KEIGN   OF   GEOEGE  THE   TIIIED.  233 

erected  in  tlicir  stead.  Their  revenues  were  afterward  confis- 
cated ;  and  if  the  native  princes  were  ever  permitted  to  retain 
the  shadow,  without  the  substance,  of  their  hereditary  power, 
they  were  compelled  to  pay  enormous  tributes ;  and  not  a  few 
even  of  these  crowned  puppets  were  reduced,  in  successive  years, 
from  opulence  to  beggary.  There  is  nothing  contained  in  the 
whole  range  of  history  ancient  or  modern — not  the  triumphs  of 
imperial  Rome  over  her  subjugated  enemies,  not  the  excesses 
of  Spanish  tyranny  and  cupidity  upon  the  vanquished  aborigines 
of  Mexico  and  Peru — which  furnish  any  parallel  in  infamy  to 
that  which  was  exhibited  by  the  British  East  India  Company,  and 
their  favorite  agents  and  emissaries,  in  their  outrages  upon  India. 
The  record  of  their  deeds  is  a  black  and  foul  blot  in  English 
history,  which  the  lapse  of  ages  cannot  wipe  away.  That  record 
displays  a  long  catalogue  of  the  most  cruel,  insatiable,  and  un- 
scrupulous encroachments,  which  were  unprincipled,  unchristian, 
and  barbarous  beyond  expression.  The  Company,  authorized 
and  supported  by  a  portion  of  the  nation,  invaded  the  territories 
of  Bengal,  the  Carnatic,  the  Decan,  and  Oude,  without  the  slight- 
est show  of  reason  or  justice  ;  and  having  conquered  their  in- 
habitants by  the  superiority  of  their  arms  and  their  tactics,  they 
tyrannized  over  their  helpless  and  unresisting  victims  with  a  de- 
gree of  ferocity  and  cruelty,  at  which  Verres  in  Sicily  or  Pizarro 
in  Peru  would  have  blushed  and  shuddered.  And  the  greatest, 
the  most  insatiable,  the  most  unscrupulous  of  all  these  civilized 
savages,  was  Warren  Hastings.* 

Deeply  interested  as  a  large  proportion  of  the  leading  men 
in  England  were  in  the  vast  remittances  of  money,  and  other 
immense  profits,  which  constantly  accrued  from  the  British  pos- 
sessions in  India,  the  abuses  which  had  been  perpetrated  in  that 
fated  land  during  many  years  under  the  guidance  of  Hastings,  at 

*  See  Meynoirs  of  the  Life  of  Wai'ren  Hastings,  first  Governor- Genei-al  of 
Bengal.  Compiled  from  Original  Papers,  hy  the  Rev.  G.  E.  Gleig,  M.  A.  3 
vols.  8to.  London,  1841.  This  work,  which  contains  a  satisfactory  narrative 
of  the  incidents  of  Hastings'  life,  should  be  read  with  caution,  inasmuch  as  very 
considerable  partiality  pervades  every  portion  of  the  work  in  favor  of  its  cele- 
brated subject. 


234  HISTOET   OF   THE   FOIJE   GEORGES. 

last  became  so  intolerable,  that  they  forced  a  solemn  utterance ; 
and  the  wails  of  afflicted  millions  reverberating  round  the  globe, 
were  heard  in  mournful  and  impressive  tones  even  in  the 
native  land  of  their  tyrants.  The  public  attention  was  aroused 
on  the  subject.  In  1781  a  secret  committee  was  appointed  by 
Parliament  to  examine  into  the  causes  which  led  to  the  iniquitous 
]\Iahratta  war,  and  into  that  which  had  desolated  the  Carnatic. 
In  the  session  of  1782  Mr.  Dundas,  then  Lord  Advocate  of  Scot- 
land, made  a  very  able  report,  as  chairman  of  that  committee,  in 
which  the  policy  pursued  by  Hastings  as  Governor-General  was 
scrutinized  and  condemned  in  the  strongest  terms ;  and  he  re- 
marked truly,  that  the  Governor  had  no  right  whatever  to  imag- 
ine himself  to  be  another  Alexander  or  Aurengzebe,  and  to  extend 
his  empire  by  desperate  military  exploits,  to  the  ruin  of  trade 
commerce,  and  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  India.  A  bill  was 
also  introduced  recalling  Elijah  Impey,  the  Chief  Justice,  and  one 
of  the  basest  tools  of  Hastings,  to  take  his  trial  in  England  for 
misdemeanors  in  office.  On  the  28th  of  May,  1782,  the  Com- 
mons passed  resolutions,  severely  condemning  the  whole  system 
of  Indian  politics  ;  but  the  India  Company  protesting  against  the 
measure,  and  doubtless  bribing  a  necessary  portion  of  the  mem- 
bers, succeeded  in  obtaining  a  reversal  of  the  resolution.  But 
the  unparalleled  success  of  the  measures  of  Hastings,  and  the 
abject  submission  of  the  inhabitants  of  India,  which  their  despair 
had  compelled  them  to  make,  had  rendered  the  Governor  the 
most  unscrupulous  of  men ;  and  his  policy  at  length  became  so 
profound  and  unfathomable  an  abyss  of  mysterious  and  inexpli- 
cable enigmas,  that  even  the  members  of  the  council  were  terri- 
fied at  it,  and  negatived  his  most  important  measures.  When 
Hastings  discovered  that  his  associates  at  the  board,  a  majority 
of  whom  he  had  always  been  able  previously  to  control,  had  be- 
come adverse  and  rebellious,  he  found  himself  compelled  to  re- 
sign. He  then  returned  to  England,  in  the  possession  of  a 
colossal  fortune  wrung  from  the  wreck  and  the  sufferings  of  mil- 
lions, in  a  far  distant  and  dusky  clime,  who  had  been  made,  by 
a  mysterious  and  malignant  decree  of  fate,  to  suffer  and  to  perish 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   TIIE   THIRD.  235 

beneath  the  heavy  scourge  of  his  superior  power  and  intelli- 
gence.* He  returned  indeed,  but  it  was  to  meet  the  anxieties 
and  the  indignities  of  a  public  prosecution  by  the  Commons  of 
Great  Britain,  in  accordance  with  the  requisitions  of  the  will  of 
the  disgraced  and  incensed  nation ;  the  details  of  which  exceed  in 
tragical  interest,  in  the  splendors  of  forensic  eloquence,  in  the 
importance  of  the  questions  involved,  in  the  duration,  the  acri- 
mony, and  the  determination  of  the  contest,  any  trial  which  ever 
occurred  in  England. 

Meanwhile  the  conflict  was  progressing  in  America  between 
the  English  forces  and  the  heroic  defenders  of  liberty.  Lord 
Cornwallis  obtained  a  victory  at  Camden.  Major  Ferguson  was 
defeated  at  King's  Mountain.  Colonel  Tarleton  met  with  an 
overwhelming  defeat  at  the  Cowpens.  To  reverse  the  picture, 
Cornwallis  triumphed  at  Guilford.  But  all  his  achievements 
were  sullied  by  the  capture  of  his  whole  armament,  through  the 
masterly  operations  of  Washington  at  Yorktown.  The  effect  of 
these  misfortunes  to  the  British  arms  was,  to  open  the  eyes  of 
the  British  government  to  the  utter  impossibility  of  vanquishing 
three  millions  of  people,  zealously  enlisted  in  the  defence  of  the 
holy  cause  of  freedom.  In  February,  1782,  General  Conway 
moved  in  the  Commons  that  an  address  be  sent  to  the  king, 

*  If  it  be  possible  to  entertain  any  doubt  respecting  the  effects  of  the  general 
policy  adopted  by  the  English  Government  in  India,  it  must  assuredly  vanish 
%Yhen  we  read  the  opinion  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Hastings, 
who,  in  his  despatch  of  August  2,  1789,  says  :  "  Independent  of  all  other  con- 
siderations, I  can  assure  you  that  it  will  be  of  the  utmost  importance  for  pro- 
moting the  solid  interests  of  the  Company,  that  the  principal  landholders  and 
traders  in  the  interior  parts  of  the  country  should  be  restored  to  such  circum- 
stances as  to  enable  them  to  support  their  families  with  decency.  I  am  sorry  to 
be  obliged  to  say,  that  agriculture  and  internal  commerce  have  for  many  years 
been  gradually  declining ;  and  that  at  present,  excepting  the  class  of  Shroffs 
and  Banians,  who  reside  almost  Entirely  in  great  towns,  the  inhabitants  of  these 
provinces  were  advancing  hastily  to  a  general  state  of  poverty  and  wretchedness. 
In  this  description  I  must  even  include  almost  every  Zemindar  in  the  Company's 
territories."  In  his  minute  of  council,  dated  September  18, 1789,  his  lordship 
asserts,  and  the  assertion  is  enough  to  strike  men  with  amazement  and  horror : 
"  That  one-third  of  the  Company's  territory  is  now  a  jungle  inhabited  by  wild 
beasts." 


236  HISTORY   OF   THE.  FOtOR   GEOEGES. 

earnestly  imploring  him  to  listen  to  the  prayer  of  his  faithful 
Commons,  that  the  war  Avith  the  American  colonies  might  no 
longer  be  pursued,  and  that  their  liberties  might  be  acknowl- 
edged. This  memorable  motion  was  discussed  at  great  length 
and  with  much  vehemence,  and  was  at  last  lost  by  one  vote  only. 
Mr.  Fox  immediately  gave  notice  that  in  a  few  days  he  would 
revive  the  question  in  another  form.  Accordingly,  on  the  first 
of  TMarch,  he  introduced  a  motion  to  the  effect  that  the  king,  in 
pursuance  of  the  advice  of  the  House  of  Commons,  would  take 
such  measures  without  delay  as  should  appear  to  him  most  con- 
ducive to  the  restoration  of  harmony  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  revolted  colonies.  This  proposition,  after  a  full  debate,  was 
carried  by  a  majority  of  nineteen.  The  Opposition  were  not 
satisfied  with  this  triumph,  but  proceeded  to  move  a  vote  of  cen- 
sure upon  the  minister,  according  to  whose  policy  the  American 
war  had  been  begun  and  conducted  ;  declaring  that  the  chief  cause 
of  all  the  national  misfortunes  was  the  want  of  foresight  and  abil- 
ity in  his  majesty's  cabinet.  This  motion  was  also  carried 
and  immediately  after  its  passage,  Loi'd  North,  the  prime  min- 
ister, of  infamous  and  unfortunate  memory,  so  far  as  the  Amer- 
ican colonies  were  concerned,  resigned  his  place. 

The  Marquis  of  Rockingham  now  became  the  head  of  the 
cabinet  for  the  second  time.  Instructions  were  sent  to  the  com- 
manders of  the  British  forces  in  America  to  inform  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  that  the  king  and  Parliament  entertained  pacific 
sentiments  toward  the  colonies  ;  and  were  ready  to  treat  with 
them  on  the  basis  of  their  future  independence.  To  this  con- 
clusion George  III.  had  been  brought  with  the  greatest  reluctance. 
He  entertained  the  strongest  aversion  to  the  diminution  of  the 
territories  over  which  he  ruled ;  and  the  great  principle  to  which 
he  most  tenaciously  but  blindly  adhered,  throughout  his  whole 
previous  administration,  was,  under  all  circumstances,  to  preserve 
the  integrity  of  the  British  Empire.  To  lose  so  vast  a  propor- 
tion of  the  territories  which  belonged  to  the  British  crown,  as 
were  contained  in  the  alienated  colonies  of  America,  was  a  mis- 
fortune which  he  deeply  felt,  and  to  which  he  was  unconquerably 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   TDIED.  237 

averse.  And  when,  after  a  protracted  and  arduous  war  of  seven 
years,  after  the  expenditure  of  hundreds  of  millions,  after  the  loss 
of  thousands  of  lives,  after  innumerable  cares,  anxieties,  and 
vexations,  he  was  compelled  to  submit  to  their  loss,  it  was  to 
him  as  a  personal  aflliction ;  and  he  felt  it  so  deeply,  that  it  event- 
ually led,  by  his  own  confession,  to  that  imbecility  of  mind 
under  which  he  so  long  and  so  painfully  suffered.* 

Provisional  articles  of  peace  with  America  were  signed  at 
Paris  in  November,  1782.  Several  months  previous  to  this 
event,  the  estimable  ^Marquis  of  Rockingham  expired,  prema- 
turely, and  in  the  midst  of  his  honorable  and  useful  career.  His 
policy  of  peace  was  pursued  by  the  Earl  of  Shelburne,  his  suc- 
cessor ;  but  the  promotion  of  this  nobleman  to  the  premiership 
led  to  fierce  dissensions  among  the  Whigs.  Mr.  Fox  resigned 
as  Keeper  of  the  Seals,  Lord  Cavendish  as  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, the  Duke  of  Portland  as  Governor  of  Ireland,  and  Ed- 
mund Burke  as  Paymaster  of  the  Forces.  In  their  places  were 
substituted  the  Earl  of  Grantham,  Wm.  Townshend,  Sir  George 
Young,  Colonel  Barre,  and  Earl  Temple.  But  the  most  re- 
markable appointment  of  all  was  that  of  the  youthful  and 
gifted  William  Pitt,  who,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty -three,  be- 
came Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer ;  an  office  which  had  always 
been  intrusted  to  men  of  great  experience,  protracted  study,  and 
mature  years.  Yet  such  was  the  extraordinary  mantle  of  genius 
which  had  fallen  upon  this  descendant  of  the  Great  Commoner, 
that  he  proved  himself  quite  equal  to  the  performance  of  the  intri- 
cate duties  of  his  post. 

During  the  continuance  of  this  ministry  in  power,  but  few 
events  of  importance  occurred.  The  entire  and  absolute  inde- 
pendence of  the  American  colonies  was  acknowledged,  and  all  the 
dangers  and  expenses  of  that  pernicious  and  unprincipled  war 
were  thus  terminated.     Minorca  was  conquered  by  the  Span- 

*  "  I  shall  never  lay  my  head  on  my  last  pillow  in  peace  and  quiet  as  long  as 
I  remember  the  loss  of  my  American  Colonies,"  was  the  remark  of  the  unfor- 
tunate king  to  Lord  Thurlow  at  a  later  period.  Doran^s  Queens  of  England 
of  the  House  of  Hanover.    Vol.  ii.,  p.  118. 


238  HI5T0KT   OF   THE   FOrK   GEOEGES. 

iards  ;  the  island  of  St.  Christopher  was  taken  by  the  French  ; 
the  Bahamas  fell  into  the  power  of  the  Portuguese ;  but  to  al- 
leviate these  misfortunes,  Sir  George  Rodney  gained  a  great 
naval  victory  over  the  French  near  the  island  of  Dominique,  and 
a  glorious  and  decisive  defence  was  made  by  British  arms  of  the 
fortress  of  Gibraltar,  against  the  combined  fleets  of  France  and 
Spain  by  which  it  was  assailed.  On  the  21st  of  January,  1783, 
preliminaries  of  peace  were  signed  between  England,  France, 
and  Spain.  The  terms  of  this  settlement  were  ultimately  ap- 
proved by  the  British  Parliament ;  and  thus,  after  many  years 
of  uncertain  and  profitless  conflict,  both  with  powers  in  the  Old 
"World  and  in  the  New,  the  British  monarch  and  the  British  Em- 
pire might  be  said  to  have  obtained  the  unfamiliar,  but  inesti- 
mable blessings  of  peace.  The  hostilities  which  had  been  waged 
between  England  and  Holland,  though  not  adjusted  in  form  until 
a  later  date,  may  also  be  said  at  this  period  to  have  been  sus- 
pended ;  for  henceforth  a  final  and  satisfactory  arrangement  was 
confidently  anticipated. 


CHAPTER   YII. 


Joint  Ministry  of  Lord  North  and  Mr.  Fox— Eenewed  Insanity  of  George  III.— Mr. 
Fox's  East  India  Bill— Dismissal  of  tho  Coalition  Cabinet— The  younger  Pitt  be- 
comes Premier — The  Quality  and  Effects  of  his  Oratory — Splendid  Era  of  British 
Eloquence— Mr.  Pitt's  East  India  Bill— Troubles  in  Ireland— Influence  of  Flood  and. 
Grattan — Pitt's  Financial  Measures — Affairs  of  India— Administration  of  Warren 
Hastings— His  Life,  Character,  and  Genius— His  Trial  before  the  House  of  Peers — 
Unrivalled  Displays  of  Forensic  Eloquence  —  Hastings'  final  Triumph  and  Ac- 
quittal. 

An  event  of  sufficient  importance  to  deserve  a  place  in  general  his- 
tory occurred  in  England  during  the  year  1783,  at  which  period 
the  coalition  ministry  ruled,  headed  by  Lord  North  and  Mr. 
Fox,  as  joint  Secretaries  of  State,  the  first  for  the  home,  the  lat- 
ter for  the  foreign,  department.  This  administration  was  ex- 
ceedingly unpopular  with  the  nation.  Mr.  Pitt  introduced  a  bill 
intended  to  reform  the  system  of  parliamentary  representation, 
abolishing  a  large  number  of  the  obnoxious  and  rotten  boroughs ; 
but  his  efforts  were  rendered  useless  by  the  opposition  of  the 
ministry  and  court,  which  possessed  a  large  majority  in  Par- 
liament. Mr.  Fox  was  the  author  and  mo\  er  of  a  bill  for  the 
purpose  of  investigating  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company ; 
and  of  placing  them  in  the  hands  of  certain  commissioners 
for  the  benefit  of  the  proprietary  and  the  public.  He  contended 
that  the  finances  of  the  Company  were  in  a  state  of  total  derange- 
ment, and  that  the  officers  were  utterly  incapable  of  governing 
the  vast  territories  over  which,  by  innumerable  acts  of  violence, 
fraud  and  rapine,  they  had  obtained  supremacy.  This  bill,  afler 
a  long  and  animated  debate,  passed  the  Commons,  but  was  re- 
jected by  the  Upper  House. 


240  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOrE   GEORGES. 

At  this  period  the  intellect  of  George  III.  began  to  give  way 
beneath  the  power  of  the  disease  which  eventually  mastered  it ; 
and  he  lost  a  large  share  of  his  usual  intelligence  and  sagacity. 
A  proof  of  this  assertion  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  Lord 
Temple  was  not  only  able  to  convince  him  that  the  India  bill  of 
Fox  was  injurious,  pernicious,  and  wicked;  but  also  to  excite  the 
rage  and  indignation  of  the  monarch  in  reference  to  it  to  an  ex- 
travagant degree.  He  persuaded  the  king  to  set  his  hand  to  a 
declaration  to  the  effect  that  whoever  supported  the  India  bill  was 
not  only  not  the  king's  friend,  but  his  direct  enemy  ;  and  he  au- 
thorized Lord  Temple  to  put  this  sentiment  in  the  strongest  pos- 
sible language,  and  to  make  it  public.  Never  had  George  III. 
perpetrated  a  more  imbecile  and  silly  act  since  his  accession  to 
the  throne. 

Thee  king's  hostility  to  this  bill,  which  had  originated  with  a 
member  of  the  cabinet,  and  was  approved  of  by  a  majority  of 
them,  rendered  it  impossible  that  they  could  still  act  har- 
moniously together  in  the  conduct  of  the  government.  At 
midnight,  on  the  18th  of  December,  1783,  a  message  was  sent 
from  the  exasperated  monarch  to  the  two  Secretaries  of  State,  de- 
manding the  seals  of  their  respective  departments ;  and  early  the 
next  morning  letters  of  dismission,  signed  by  Earl  Temple,  were 
sent  to  all  the  other  members  of  the  cabinet.  This  decisive  con- 
duct on  the  part  of  George  III.  clearly  showed  that,  while  he 
had  lost  a  portion  of  his  usual  sagacity,  he  retained  more  than 
his  ordinary  share  of  stubbornness. 

The  whole  of  the  coalition  cabinet  being  swept  away,  William 
Pitt  was  chosen  to  head  the  government.  He  was  declared 
First  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  and  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 
The  Marquis  of  Caermarthen  and  Thomas  Townshend  were  nom- 
inated Secretaries  of  State.  The  profane,  perfidious,  and  brutal 
Thurlow  was  reinstated  as  Lord  Chancellor.  The  Duke  of  Rut- 
land became  Privy  Seal,  and  Lord  Temple  was  appointed  Gov- 
ernor of  Ireland.  This  new  ministry  was  received  by  the  nation 
with  transports  of  joy.  The  powerful  charm  possessed  by  the 
name  of  Pitt  had  not  yet  faded  away ;  and  the  people  of  Britain, 


UFE  AND  REIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE  TUTRD.  241 

SO  long  harassed  by  imbecile  or  by  mercenary  counsels,  confi- 
dently hoped  to  find  in  the  ability  and  disinterested  patriotism 
of  the  son  of  the  Great  Commoner,  a  wiser,  safer,  and  better  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  of  the  Empire. 

The  new  minister  was  destined  to  pass  through  some  of  the 
most  violent  and  desperate  struggles  which  ever  tasked  the  en- 
ergies of  the  chief  of  a  government.  The  talents  of  the  second 
Pitt  were  probably  as  great  as  those  of  the  first ;  though  they 
were  not  as  bold,  as  startling,  and  as  resistless.  His  eloquence 
was  more  polished  and  courtly ;  his  orations  were  more  elaborate 
and  labored ;  though  the  efiects  of  their  delivery  were  less  instan- 
taneous and  overwhelming.  His  speeches  resembled  the  firm, 
steady,  onward  current  of  a  great  and  affluent  river,  which  car- 
ried a  vast  body  of  water  at  a  steady  pace  toward  the  capacious 
bosom  of  an  ocean  ready  to  receive  it.  The  efforts  of  his  illus- 
trious father  were  very  like  the  tumultuous  and  powerful  plunge 
of  a  cataract,  which,  leaping  forward  with  a  rapid  and  convulsive 
rush,  hurried  every  opponent  down  the  abyss,  and  submerged 
him  in  ruin.  The  result  of  this  signal  difference  between  the  two 
Pitts  was,  that  the  speeches  of  the  son,  inasmuch  as  they  were 
characterized  by  a  more  elaborate  and  lengthy  investigation  of 
subjects,  became  on  that  very  account  more  susceptible  of  reply. 
His  opponents  found  something  in  them  to  combat ;  and  gifted 
men  always  met  in  his  orations  much  that  was  worthy  of  their 
most  concentrated  and  consummate  efforts.  Hence  it  was  that 
the  parliamentary  battles  which  were  fought  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  younger  Pitt,  were  the  fiercest,  longest,  ablest,  and 
most  celebrated,  which  have  occurred  since  the  foundation  of  the 
British  Constitution  ;  for  this  was  the  memorable  era  in  which 
Fox,  Burke,  Sheridan,  Dundas,  and  Windham  flourished,  and 
constituted  a  galaxy  of  high  and  varied  genius  such  as  no  other 
age  or  country  ever  produced  at  a  single  crisis. 

The  chief  subject  which  engaged  the  nation,  and  divided  her 

representatives  at  this  period,  appertained   to   the  East  India 

Company.     This  colossal  monopoly  had  become  so  notorious  for 

its  outrages  upon  the  rights  of  the  millions  who  were  subject  to 

11 


242  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

its  sway,  that  it  was  absolutely  impossible  for  any  minister, 
possessing  either  honesty,  humanity,  or  patriotism,  to  ignore  the 
subject.  One  of  the  first  measures  of  Mr.  Pitt  was  his  India 
Bill.  The  terms  of  this  bill  were  acceptable  to  the  king,  but 
they  were  rejected  by  the  Commons.  He  subsequently  intro- 
duced another,  by  which  a  Board  of  Control,  composed  of  a 
number  of  commissioners  of  the  rank  of  privy  counsellors  was 
established,  who  were  to  be  appointed,  and  to  be  removable  by  the 
sovereign.  Mr.  Fox  attacked  this  bill  with  prodigious  eloquence 
and  energy,  and  showed  how  it  conferred  a  formidable  and  dan- 
gerous accession  of  power  to  the  crown.  But  the  splendor  of 
his  declamation  and  the  thunder  of  his  invective  were  all  thrown 
away ;  and  the  minister  finally  carried  his  proposition  in  both 
houses  with  decisive  majorities.  It  was  on  this  occasion,  in 
August,  1784,  that  Mr.  Burke,  for  the  first  time,  displayed  the 
full  extent  of  his  abilities,  and  the  unfathomable  depth  of  the 
hostility  which  he  entertained  against  Warren  Hastings,  the  late 
Governor-General  of  India ;  which  was  destined  afterward  to  find 
its  culmination  in  the  thrilling  scenes  and  magnificent  oratorical 
displays  of  a  public  trial,  which  is  without  a  parallel  in  Eng- 
lish history,  so  fruitful  of  impeachments,  persecutions,  and  ju- 
dicial assassinations  of  celebrated  statesmen.  As  soon  as  the 
vote  was  taken  on  this  question,  and  decided  in  the  minister's 
favor,  Mr.  Burke  gave  notice  that  he  would  bring  forward  a  series 
of  resolutions  intended  as  the  foimdation  of  an  inquiry  into  the 
conduct  of  Hastings  as  Governor-General  of  India.  Mr.  Pitt  op- 
posed this  measure  by  moving  the  order  of  the  day,  and  for  a 
time  the  scrutiny  was  postponed. 

In  1785,  the  kingdom  of  Ireland  became  the  chief  subject  of 
the  solicitude  of  the  monarch  and  the  nation.  Three  great  evils 
produced  by  British  tyranny  then  afflicted  that  people.  One  of 
these  appertained  to  their  restricted  commerce.  The  second  re- 
ferred to  their  unjust  representation.  The  third  resulted  from 
their  preposterous  ecclesiastical  relations.  In  regard  to  the  first, 
the  Irish  through  their  Parliament,  which  still  existed,  and  still 
possessed  some  trifling  show  of  power  and  freedom,  demanded 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN   OF  GEORGE  THE  THIRD.  243 

the  removal  of  those  restrictions  which  so  grievously  hampered 
their  commerce,  and  threw  all  the  profits  of  their  industry  into 
the  insatiable  maw  of  England.  They  also  demanded  universal 
suffrage,  and  the  abolition  of  the  law  which  restricted  the  right 
of  voting  to  the  Protestant  freeholders,  who  were  a  small  propor- 
tion of  the  inhabitants  of  tlie  country.  They  also  contended  for 
the  removal  of  the  iniquitous  and  ruinous  taxes  or  church  rates, 
which  the  Roman  Catholic  population  of  Ireland  were  compelled 
to  pay  to  the  support  of  the  clergy  of  the  Established  Church. 
Large  popular  meetings  were  held  in  reference  to  these  reforms 
at  Lisburne,  at  Dungannon,  at  Munster ;  and  finally  a  national 
convention  was  held  at  Dublin.  The  celebrated  Irish  orators 
Grattan  and  Flood  flourished  in  the  deliberations  of  this  conven- 
tion, and  acquired  a  name  and  a  distinction  which  have  not  yet 
become  dim  by  the  lapse  of  time.  They  also  figured  as  mem- 
bers of  the  Irish  Parliament ;  but  their  patriotic  measures  were 
generally  resisted  and  voted  down  by  the  decisive  majorities 
which  the  British  ministry,  and  their  agent  the  Viceroy,  were 
able  to  command.  But  the  public  mind  in  Ireland  was  very 
restless.  Fears  were  entertained  of  popular  disturbances  ;  and 
several  regiments  which  had  been  intended  for  India,  were  re- 
tained to  strengthen  the  garrison  of  Dublin.  The  agitation  of 
measures  of  reform  was  continued  from  time  to  time  by  Flood 
and  Grattan  in  the  Irish  Parliament,  but  to  no  purpose ;  inas- 
much as  the  usual  majority  of  the  ministry,  in  opposition  to  all 
proposed  changes  in  the  laws  and  administration  of  that  unfortu- 
nate victim  of  British  tyranny,  was  as  a  hundred  and  twelve  votes 
to  sixty. 

The  energies  of  Mr.  Pitt  were  now  employed  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  many  measures  of  minor  importance  to  the  national  pros- 
perity, Avhich  need  not  here  be  enumerated.  The  national  rev- 
enue at  this  period  amounted  to  fifteen  million  pounds ;  yet 
even  this  vast  sum  was  insufficient  to  meet  the  current  expenses 
of  the  government.  He  proposed  to  increase  the  revenue  by  the 
imposition  of  a  tax  on  spirits,  imported  timber,  and  perfumery. 
It  was  also  foimd  necessary  to  pay  the  private  debts  of  the  mon- 


244  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

arch,  which  at  this  period  had,  for  the  fifth  time,  become  so  great 
as  to  have  been  annoying  and  burdensome.  But  these  and  other 
minor  matters  of  legislation  were  all  thrown  into  obscurity,  by 
the  absorbing  interest  which  the  nation  and  monarch  felt  in  a 
great  judicial  proceeding  which,  in  April,  1786,  was  commenced 
by  a  coalition  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  nation,  against  the  most 
gifted,  most  imscrupulous,  and  the  most  guilty  statesman  who 
ever  exercised  a  colossal  and  dangerous  power,  in  any  of  the  dis- 
tant appendages  of  the  empire.  Warren  Hastings,  the  late  Gov- 
ernor-General of  Bengal,  was  impeached  at  the  bar  of  the  House 
of  Commons  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors  in  his  office ;  at 
the  same  time  nine  articles  of  accusation  Avere  exhibited,  which  were 
eventually  increased  to  the  number  of  twenty-two.  With  Mr. 
Burke,  himself  a  host,  were  associated  in  this  memorable  prose- 
cution, ;Mr.  Sheridan,  Charles  James  Fox,  Mr.  Windham,  and 
Charles  Grey  :  ]Mr.  Pitt  had  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings. 

Warren  Hastings,  whose  life  contained  a  degree  of  romance 
far  stranger  than  the  strangest  of  fictions,  was  born  at  Daylesford, 
in  1732.  He  was  descended  from  a  noble  bnt  impoverished  fam- 
ily, who  once  flourished  with  considerable  splendor  upon  an  ances- 
tral domain,  which  had  been  held  by  them  at  that  place  since  the 
thirteenth  century ;  but  of  which  they  had  been  deprived  many 
years  before  the  birth  of  their  illustrious  representative.  The  boy 
lived  and  suffei*ed  in  poverty  at  Daylesford  until  his  eighth  year, 
when  an  uncle  who  possessed  some  means,  sent  him  to  school. 
In  his  tenth  year  the  diminutive  Warren  was  placed  under  the 
tuition  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Nichols  at  Westminster ;  and  so  ex- 
traordinary was  his  progress  in  learning,  that  his  generous  rel- 
ative determined  to  support  the  talented  and  ambitious  orphan 
at  the  university  of  Oxford.  This  desirable  destiny  was  thwarted 
by  the  premature  decease  of  his  benefactor  ;  after  which,  Hastings 
fell  into  the  hands  of  a  friend  of  his  fomily,  who  gladly  released 
himself  of  the  burden  by  obtaining  for  him  a  writership  in  the 
service  of  the  East  India  Company.  Young,  friendless,  and  in- 
experienced, Hastings  was  thus  thrown  adrift  upon  the  wide  and 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE  THIRD.  245 

stormy  ocean  of  the  world,  to  be  wafted  by  its  surging  billows 
either  to  greatness  and  glory,  or  to  a  speedy  and  more  probable 
death.  He  arrived  at  Calcutta  in  1750,  in  the  seventeenth  year 
of  his  age,  and  immediately  devoted  himself  to  the  obscure  and 
irksome  duties  of  his  station. 

Those  were  stirring  and  perilous  times  in  India.  The  un- 
happy race  who  were  trodden  into  the  dust  by  British  tyranny, 
had  been  for  some  time  on  the  point  of  rising  upon  their  oppres- 
sors, and  wreaking  a  well-deserved  vengeance  for  their  sufferings. 
The  reputation  for  talent  and  sagacity  which  Hastings  rapidly 
gained,  rendered  him  a  useful  agent  in  the  negotiations  which 
took  place  between  the  belligerents,  after  the  horrible  suflerings 
and  incidents  connected  with  the  Black  Hole.  After  the  mem- 
orable battle  of  Plassey,  in  which  the  heroic  Clive  rescued  the 
British  Empire  in  India  from  impending  ruin  by  unexampled 
fortitude  and  skill,  Hastings  was  appointed  to  reside  at  the  court 
of  the  Nabob  of  Bengal,  the  obedient  puppet  of  the  triumphant 
Company,  as  their  agent  and  representative.  From  this  period 
his  importance  and  influence  continually  increased.  His  great 
talents  for  intrigue  and  diplomacy,  and  his  unscrupulous  disre- 
gard of  all  the  most  sacred  rights  of  others,  soon  elevated  him  to 
distinction  among  the  many  bold  and  able  men  who  had  resorted 
to  India  to  advance  their  fortunes.  Many  years  of  toil,  adventure, 
and  success  passed  away ;  when,  in  1769,  Hastings  was  appointed 
by  the  Company  a  m.ember  of  the  Supreme  Council  at  Madras. 
He  still  continued  his  ambitious  and  crafty  career  until  1772 ; 
when  he  was  promoted,  in  consequence  of  bis  frequent  and  signal 
displays  of  ability  in  matters  of  administration  and  government, 
to  the  highest  office  in  the  British  East  Indies,  the  Governor- 
Generalship  of  Bengal.  Then  followed  many  thrilling  and  mem- 
orable scenes  in  the  life  of  this  extraordinary  man,  which  scarcely 
fmd  a  parallel  in  history.  His  abilities,  which  were  of  the  high- 
est order,  fitted  him  for  the  most  desperate  emergencies.  His 
name  became  a  sound  of  terror  to  fifty  millions  of  people  over 
whom  he  ruled.  He  obtained  from  them  by  rapine  and  plunder 
incalculable  sums  of  money,  to  enrich  the  coffers  of  his  employ- 


246  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

ers,  his  associates,  and  himself.  Almost  eveiy  crime  known  to 
the  calendar — murder,  forgery,  extortion,  robbery,  falsehood,  and 
bribery,  the  vilest  expedients  and  the  blackest  villanies — all  were 
put  into  frequent  and  repeated  operation  upon  people  of  every 
class  and  every  grade,  from  princes  and  high  priests  down  to  the 
lowest  peasants  and  the  most  destitute  orphans  and  widows,  to 
swell  the  sum  of  his  ungodly  gains.  These  outrages  were  not 
unknown  in  England.  After  years  of  success,  and  the  exercise 
of  a  dangerous  and  despotic  power  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
globe,  Hastings,  wearied  with  the  toils  and  sated  with  the 
splendors  of  office,  resigned  his  high  place,  and  returned  to  his 
native  country.  Very  soon  after  his  arrival  he  w'as  officially  in- 
formed that  his  conduct  w' ould  soon  be  brought  to  the  test  of  a 
severe  judicial  scrutiny.  He  himself  anticipated  a  very  different 
reception.  He  expected  that  the  potent  influence  of  the  Com- 
pany whose  treasury  he  had  filled  with  uncounted  millions  would 
secure  him  a  peerage,  that  he  would  be  decorated  with  stars  and 
garters,  and  obtain  a  place  in  the  cabinet  of  the  monarch.  These 
soaring  hopes  were  all  destined  to  be  disappointed.  He  w^as 
solemnly  impeached,  after  the  necessary  lapse  of  a  few  months, 
for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors  as  Governor-General  of  Ben- 
gal. The  chief  mover  in  these  bold  proceedings  was  the  eloquent 
Burke ;  whose  ardent  imagination  had  been  aroused,  and  whose 
sense  of  justice  had  been  outraged,  by  the  excesses  and  cruelties 
of  this  great  criminal,  w'hich  were  a  burning  disgrace,  as  he 
thought,  not  only  to  himself,  but  also  to  England,  and  even  to 
human  nature. 

This  celebrated  trial  commenced  in  February,  1786.  The 
prosecution  was  conducted  by  Burke,  Fox,  Sheridan,  and  Grey, 
the  most  eloquent  and  able  advocates  then  existing  in  the  British 
Empire,  and  probably  in  the  world.  The  proceedings  were  held 
in  Westminster  Hall,  the  most  venerable  and  imposing  edifice 
in  England;  with  which  were  associated  the  memories  of  many 
of  the  most  important  and  thrilling  events  in  English  history. 
The  audience  who  crowded  that  vast  space,  and  gazed  with  silent 
wonder  on  the  imposing  scene,  comprised  whatever  w^as  noblest, 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   TIIE   THIRD.  247 

richest,  most  beautiful,  and  most  illustrious  in  the  realm,  in- 
cluding the  heir  apparent  to  the  throne — the  Prince  of  Wales. 
The  undaunted  defendant  in  this  great  contest  "was  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  Englishmen  of  his  time;  who,  possessing 
talents  of  the  first  order,  had  risen  from  poverty  and  obscurity 
to  the  government  of  a  distant,  powerful,  and  opulent  empire, 
whose  laws,  commerce,  literature,  religion,  population,  politi- 
cal and  social  condition,  he  had  controlled,  perverted,  and 
cursed.  The  judges  who  were  appointed  to  determine  this  im- 
portant cause  were  the  Parliament  of  England,  at  that  time  the 
most  able  and  influential  deliberative  assembly  in  the  Avorld. 
The  trial  may  be  said  to  have  lasted  eight  years ;  for  that  period 
of  time  elapsed  between  the  opening  of  the  case,  and  the  final  dis- 
charge of  the  defendant  from  bail.  But  the  most  interesting  scenes 
connected  with  the  trial  occurred  during  the  first  few  days  of  its 
progress ;  when  the  speeches  of  Burke,  Fox,  and  Sheridan  wjere 
delivered,  which  were  masterpieces  of  unrivalled  excellence  and 
splendor  in  the  great  art  of  forensic  eloquence.  It  were  vain  to 
attempt  any  description,  in  the  limited  space  we  here  possess, 
of  those  prodigious  displays  of  genius,  in  which  the  Demosthenes, 
the  ^Eschines,  and  the  Cicero  of  modern  times  put  forth  their  ut- 
most powers  upon  an  occasion  so  worthy  of  their  fullest  exer- 
cise. The  fortunes  of  the  memorable  conflict  were  varied. 
After  the  labors  of  the  accusers  and  the  advocates  had  been  ex- 
hausted, Hastings  was  acquitted  on  the  charge  respecting  the 
Rohilla  war,  and  condemned  on  that  in  reference  to  the  Rajah  of 
Benares,  as  well  as  on  the  one  referring  to  the  Begum  Princesses 
of  Oude  ;  whom  he  had  impoverished  and  despoiled  with  circum- 
stances of  cruelty  and  horror,  which,  to  this  day,  stir  the  indig- 
nant blood  of  the  coldest  and  most  indiflcrcnt  observer.  But  as 
the  progress  of  the  trial  became  more  protz-acted,  and  its  ultimate 
issue  seemed  to  be  farther  removed  in  the  distant  future,  the  pub- 
lic interest  in  the  subject,  which  had  for  a  time  absorbed  the 
whole  attention  of  the  nation,  became  much  diminished ;  until  at 
last,  when  the  peers  voted  upon  the  final  question  of  condemna- 
tion or  acquittal,  their  sentence  was  of  so  divided  and  equivocal 


24:8  mSTOEY   OF   the  FOUK   GEORGES. 

a  nature  that  it  amounted  in  reality  to  an  acquittal.  In  the  end, 
Hastings  was  summoned  to  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords,  in- 
formed that  he  had  been  absolved,  and  solemnly  discharged. 
Thus  ended,  after  many  years  of  struggle  and  forensic  display, 
after  intense  hatreds,  animosities,  and  conflicts,  after  exposures 
which  kindle  the  rage,  extort  tears  from  the  eyes,  and  execrations 
from  the  lips  of  the  wise,  humane,  and  good  of  every  land  and 
creed — thus  terminated  the  most  important  and  remarkable  trial, 
not  even  excepting  that  of  a  beheaded  king,  which  ever  occurred 
on  English  ground,  or  absorbed  the  attention  of  the  British 
people.  Hastings  then  retired  to  the  secure  enjoyment  of  the 
luxuries  and  splendors  of  his  opulent  privacy,  which  had  been 
bought  by  the  sufferings  and  ruin  of  millions  of  his  fellow  men ; 
and  after  surviving  far  beyond  the  usual  extreme  of  human  ex- 
istence, he  quietly  disappeared  beneath  the  shadows  of  the  tomb 
in  his  eighty -sixth  year,  at  that  same  Daylesford  which  had  wit- 
nessed the  sufferings  and  privations  of  his  hapless  infancy.* 

*  See  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Warren  Hastings,  first  Governor-General  of 
Bengal.  Compiled  from  Original  Papers  by  the  Bev.  G.  B.  Gleig,  M.A.  3 
vols.    London,  1841. 


CHAPTER   YIII. 


Attempt  to  assassinate  the  King— State  of  his  Mind— Disgraceful  Conduct  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales — The  King's  Insanity  returns— The  peculiarities  of  his  Disease — His  Suc- 
cessive Attacks — Regency  Bill— The  King's  sudden  Eecovery  —Important  Events  in 
France— Their  Influence  on  the  Popular  Mind  in  England— Debates  in  Parliament 
in  reference  to  these  Events— Eiots— Recall  of  the  British  Ambassador  at  Paris — 
Expulsion  of  the  French  Ambassador  from  England— Dangerous  Excitement  per- 
vading the  Nation— The  French  Republic  declares  War  against  the  King  of  England 
and  the  Dutch  Stadtholder. 


The  innumerable  cares  and  vexations  attendant  upon  the  royal 
authority,  together  with  the  adverse  events  which  had,  from  time 
to  time,  occurred  in  different  portions  of  the  empire,  produced  a 
most  pernicious  effect  upon  the  intellect  of  George  III. ;  and  in 
August,  1786,  an  incident  happened  which  tended  to  increase  his 
mental  irritation.  As  the  king  was  leaving  the  palace  of  St- 
James  by  the  garden  entrance,  an  insane  woman  named  Mar- 
garet Nicholson  approached  him  to  present  a  paper.  While  he 
was  receiving  it,  she  stabbed  him.  The  blow  was  not  a  very 
violent  one,  and  the  weapon  did  not  penetrate  much  beyond  his 
clothes.  He  immediately  ordered  the  arrest  of  the  lunatic,  and 
hastened  to  convey  to  the  queen  at  Windsor,  the  first  intelligence 
of  the  danger  to  which  he  had  been  exposed.  As  he  entered  her 
apartment,  he  exclaimed  with  a  joyous  countenance :  "  Here  I 
am,  safe  and  well,  though  I  have  had  a  very  narrow  escape  of 
being  stabbed."  The  queen  was  at  first  very  much  terrified  ; 
and  while  her  husband  proceeded  to  describe  the  circumstances 
of  the  event,  she  burst  into  tears.  She  readily  appreciated  the 
consequences  which  would  have  occurred  to  herself  had  the  king 
been  slain.  Her  power  and  influence,  which  were  second  only  to 
11* 


250  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

that  of  her  husband,  Avould  have  been  greatly  diminished,  and 
her  position  even  rendered  unpleasant.  When  the  news  of  the 
attempted  assassination  became  known  throughout  the  capital 
and  nation,  it  increased  the  king's  popularity,  as  it  called  forth 
the  popular  sympathy.  Addresses  of  congratulation  were  sent  in 
from  every  quarter.  The  papers  were  filled  with  strongly  loyal 
articles.  Whenever  the  king  appeared  in  public  he  was  greeted 
by  long  and  loud  acclamations.  The  first  drawing-room  which 
was  held  at  the  palace  subsequent  to  the  event  was  more  crowded 
with  the  rank  and  splendor  of  the  realm,  than  any  which  had 
occurred  during  some  years. 

These  pleasing  scenes  of  loyalty  and  congratulation  were  des- 
tined to  be  of  short  duration.  Not  many  months  afterward,  the 
mind  of  the  king  again  became  seriously  affected.  One  of  the 
principal  causes  which  led  to  his  derangement  in  1788  was  the 
undutiful  and  disgraceful  conduct  of  his  eldest  son,  the  Prince  of 
Wales.  As  this  young  person  approached  manhood,  he  became 
the  abandoned  representative  of  every  vice,  and  soon  earned  for 
himself  the  unenviable  eminence  of  being  the  most  contemptible 
of  the  human  race.  From  this  infamy  neither  his  handsome 
person,  his  exalted  birth,  nor  the  advantages  with  which  he  had 
been  favored,  rescued  him.  At  the  period  of  which  we  now 
speak  he  had  arrived  at  the  twenty-sixth  year  of  his  age ;  and  to 
his  other  vices  had  added  the  disgrace  of  becoming  the  political 
opponent  of  the  measures  of  his  father's  administration,  while 
there  was  neither  necessity  nor  propriety  in  his  mingling  in  the 
affairs  of  government.  As  the  history  of  this  prince  will  come 
under  minute  review  in  the  closing  portion  of  this  volume, 
as  George  IV.,  we  have  abstained  from  narrating,  in  this  connec- 
tion, the  incidents  of  his  youth,  even  in  their  influence  upon  the 
conduct  and  feelings  of  his  royal  father.  It  is  necessary  here 
only  to  observe  that  his  rebellious  and  reckless  conduct  had  a 
decisive  effect  in  bringing  about  the  intermediate  and  also  the 
final  derangement  of  George  III. ;  whose  mind,  irritated  beyond 
endurance  by  a  thousand  public  and  domestic  provocations,  at 
last  totally  sank  beneath  the  intolerable  burden. 


LITE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIED.  251 

One  peculiar  symptom  of  the  king's  illness  at  this  period  was 
a  total  loss  of  sleep  and  great  nervous  irritation.  He  had  re- 
course three  times  to  "  James's  powders,"  without  receiving  any- 
soothing  influence.  He  talked  continually,  incoherently,  and 
gave  the  clearest  evidence  that  his  reason  was  then  dethroned. 
He  was  not  yet  removed  from  the  palace  of  St.  James,  or  con- 
fined in  any  ^vay.  He  broke  out  into  his  first  positive  fit  of  de- 
lirium at  dinner.  The  queen,  who  was  present,  burst  into  tears 
at  the  sad  spectacle,  so  afilicting  in  itself,  and  so  humiliating  to 
human  nature.  The  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Duke  of  York 
were  at  first  frightened  ;  afterward  they  exhibited  unequivocal 
signs  of  rejoicing  at  the  near  prospect  which  was  thus  presented 
of  their  acquisition  of  greater  power  and  consequence  in  the 
state. 

The  first  night  after  the  king's  attack,  he  conducted  Queen 
Charlotte  to  her  bed-chamber,  as  was  his  uniform  custom ;  but 
there  he  repeated  the  request  a  hundred  times,  that  she  would 
not  disturb  him.  He  concluded  by  saying  affectingly  that  he 
needed  no  physician,  as  the  queen  was  his  best  doctor  and  his 
most  faithful  friend.  He  then  became  worse,  and  Dr.  Warren 
was  sent  for.  He  refused  to  see  him,  and  declared  that  he  was 
only  suffering  from  nervousness,  and  was  otherwise  perfectly 
well.  But  the  physician  was  enabled  by  a  stratagem  to  make 
some  scrutiny  into  the  conduct  and  appearance  of  the  unhappy 
monarch ;  and  the  conclusion  to  which  he  came  was  by  no  means 
encouraging.  The  Prince  of  Wales  now  became  in  reality  com- 
mander of  the  palace  of  Windsor ;  and  soon  every  thing  assumed 
the  disorder  and  recklessness  which  marked  his  own  character. 
Things  were  done  by  his  orders  respecting  which  an  observant 
courtier  justly  remarked  that,  if  the  king  recovered  and  was  in- 
formed of  them,  they  would  be  enough  to  drive  him  again  into 
madness. 

The  king's  sons  and  their  intimates  sometimes  amused  them- 
selves by  listening  in  an  adjoining  chamber,  to  the  hoarse  and 
pitiful  ravings  of  the  demented  monarch.  By  some  means  he  had 
his  suspicions  aroused  on  the  subject,  and  he  surprised  and  terri- 


252  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

fied  them  one  night  by  suddenly  appearing  among  them,  and 
fiercely  demanding  what  they  were  doing  there.  They  en- 
deavored to  evade  the  question,  and  to  conciliate  him,  but  they 
failed.  He  was  not  so  much  deranged  as  to  be  unable  to  pen- 
etrate the  designs  of  his  worthless  offspring.  Looking  around, 
the  king  missed  the  presence  of  Prince  Frederic,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded in  concealing  himself.  He  then  exclaimed :  "  Freddy 
is  my  friend ;  yes  he  is  my  friend."  Sir  George  Baker  suc- 
ceeded after  a  time  in  inducing  the,  monarch  to  return  to  his  own 
chamber ;  but  there,  the  latter  forced  Sir  George  into  a  corner, 
and  told  him  he  was  an  old  woman,  who  could  not  distuieuish 
between  a  mere  nervous  malady  and  any  other  disease. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  determined,  as  the  king  gave  no  signs 
of  recovery,  to  remove  him  from  Windsor  to  the  small  palace 
at  Kew.  The  king  declared  that  he  would  never  go  thither.  A 
stratagem  was  at  last  resorted  to,  to  overcome  his  repugnance. 
He  desired  very  much  to  be  allowed  to  see  his  queen  and  daugh- 
ters, from  whom,  for  some  time,  he  had  been  separated.  He  was 
informed  that  they  had  all  removed  to  Kew,  and  that  if  he 
wished  to  see  them  he  must  follow  them.  He  agreed  to  do  so. 
Having  arrived  at  Kew  he  demanded  of  his  attendants  the  Mfil- 
ment  of  their  promise.  They  refused  him ;  and  the  unhappy 
king  felt  the  blow  so  severely,  that  he  spent  the  succeeding  night 
in  fearful  paroxysms  of  impotent  fury  and  rage. 

The  malady  of  the  king  had  commenced  with  a  discharge  of 
humor  from  the  legs.  By  his  imprudence  and  mental  excite- 
ment, the  affection  had  been  driven  from  the  limbs  to  the  bowels 
and  thence  to  the  head.  The  physicians  endeavored,  yet  for  a 
long  time  in  vain,  to  bring  the  humor  back  to  its  original  loca- 
tion. Thus  the  year  1788  wore  gloomily  away.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  and  his  friends,  of  whom  Charles  James  Fox  was  the 
ablest  and  boldest,  made  preparations  to  have  a  regency  ap- 
pointed, and  the  heir  apparent  designated  to  fill  the  post.  Their 
ambitious  and  premature  plans  were  destined  to  be  disappointed. 
On  the  first  day  of  1789,  the  unfortunate  monarch  was  heard  in 
his  chamber  praying  loudly  and  fervently  for  his  own  recovery. 


LITE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE   THIRD.  253 

The  succeeding  third  of  February  had  been  appointed  for  the 
purpose  of  introducing  the  proposed  Regency  Bill,  in  favor  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  into  Parliament.  During  this  apparent  inter- 
regnum William  Pitt  still  guided  the  helm  of  state  with  an  arm 
so  vigorous  and  steady,  that  the  empire  suffered  no  injury  from 
the  incapacity  of  the  sovereign.  Meanwhile  the  latter  gradually 
began  to  recover,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  queen,  and  the  friends 
of  the  monarch,  and  to  the  intense  mortification  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  his  unprincipled  confederates.  Had  the  Prince  at- 
tained the  regency  at  this  period,  he  would  have  instantly 
expelled  the  Pitt  ministry,  abandoned  the  whole  line  of  policy 
which  they  had  pursued  both  as  to  foreign  and  domestic  affairs, 
and  would  have  elevated  Fox  and  the  ultra-Whie:  states- 
men  to  power.  On  the  10th  of  March,  the  Lord  Chancellor  in- 
formed the  public  that  the  king  had  perfectly  recovered,  and  that 
he  had  ordered  a  commission  to  be  issued  for  holding  Parliament 
in  the  usual  manner.  The  proceeding  put  an  end  to  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  iniquitous  Regency  Bill  which  had  been  com- 
menced. The  Prince  of  Wales  was  greatly  disappointed ;  but 
the  rejoicing  of  the  nation  was  universal.  The  restored  monarch 
expressed  his  determination  to  make  a  public  expression  of 
thanks  to  the  Supreme  Being  for  the  return  of  his  physical  and 
mental  health.  The  cathedral  of  St.  Paul  was  prepared  for  that 
purpose,  and  on  the  25th  of  Jvtne,  1789,  one  of  the  most  impres- 
sive scenes  occurred  within  that  stately  fane,  upon  which  the  eye 
of  man  had  ever  gazed.  As  the  king  proceeded  from  the  palace 
to  the  temple,  he  was  greeted  by  the  hearty  cheers  of  an  im- 
mense multitude.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  devoted  queen, 
who  shared  with  him  the  solemn  pleasure  of  the  occasion.  As 
the  royal  pair  entered  the  cathedral  arm  in  arm,  the  first  effect 
produced  by  the  preparations  which  had  been  made  within  it 
was  sublime.  During  the  solemn  religious  service  which  en- 
sued, in  which  the  vast  assemblage  seemed  to  join,  and  while  the 
sublime  melody  of  the  organ  reverberated  beneath  the  far  ascend- 
ing vault  of  the  dome,  the  devout  and  grateful  emotions  of  the 
monarch  could  not  be  concealed,  and  were  edifying  to  every  be- 


254  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOIIR   GEOKGES. 

holder.  All  were  pleased  and  gratified  except  the  selfish  and 
perfidious  prince  from  whose  unprincipled  grasp  the  royal  scep- 
tre had  so  suddenly  been  wrested. 

Very  soon  after  his  recovery,  the  king  remarked  to  the  Chan- 
cellor,  Lord  Thurlow,  that  what  had  already  occurred  might 
happen  again  ;  and  he  desired  some  immediate  and  permanent 
provision  to  be  made  for  such  a  regency  as  would  settle  the  gov- 
ernment upon  a  desirable  basis,  in  case  he  was  again  rendered 
unfit  to  exercise  the  royal  functions.  Mr.  Pitt  and  the  other 
members  of  the  cabinet  readily  admitted  the  expediency  of  the 
measure  ;  but  they  were  divided  as  to  the  minor  details.  It  was 
not  until  a  later  period,  when  the  insanity  of  George  III.  became 
hopeless,  and  the  regency  became  a  matter  of  immediate  and  ab- 
solute necessity,  that  the  full  establishment  and  limitation  of  its 
powers  and  prerogatives  were  decided  upon  by  Parliament. 

During  1789  tranquillity  prevailed  both  at  home  and  with 
foreign  nations.  The  trial  of  Warren  Hastings  still  continued 
to  attract  a  large  share  of  public  attention,  but  some  years  were 
still  destined  to  elapse  before  its  conclusion.  Mr.  Addington 
was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  upon  the  promo- 
tion of  Mr.  Grenville  to  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State.  The 
revenues  of  the  year  were  insufficient  to  meet  the  current  ex- 
penses of  the  government,  and  Mr.  Pitt  was  compelled  to  pro- 
pose a  loan  of  a  million  pounds.  Yet  notwithstanding  this 
incident,  the  security  and  prosperity  of  the  nation  were  such  as 
to  give  general  confidence  and  joy.  The  chief  source  of  appre- 
hension arose  from  the  events  which  were  transpiring  at  this  pe- 
riod in  France.  That  mighty  revolution  which  was  destined  to 
desolate  the  fairest  kingdom  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and 
render  it  a  howling  wilderness,  had  broken  forth.  Political  tem- 
pests, such  as  had  never  been  equalled  in  fury  since  the  founda- 
tion of  governments,  swept  over  the  land,  blasting  whatever  was 
fairest  and  noblest  among  the  monuments  of  past  ages,  and  filling 
France  with  blood  and  tears.  The  States-General  convened  at 
Versailles,  at  the  command  of  Louis  XVI.,  who  sincerely  desired 
to  remedy  the  existing  evils,  by  the  cooperation  of  the  represent- 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE  THIRD.  255 

atives  of  the  nation.  Soon  this  assembly  of  demagogues  and 
assassins  declared  their  entire  independence  of  the  king  and  court, 
asserted  their  superiority  over  them,  and  proceeded  to  excesses, 
the  narrative  of  which  forms  the  bloodiest  and  blackest  page  in 
the  annals  of  the  world.  These  events  are  faithfully  recorded 
elsewhere,  and  do  not  come  within  the  scope  of  the  j^resent  his- 
tory. They  called  forth,  during  their  progress,  much  scrutiny  in 
the  British  nation,  who  were  able  to  behold  from  a  safe  distance  the 
horrible  effects  of  revolutionary  fanaticism.  At  this  period  Ed- 
mund Burke  published  his  celebrated  "  Reflections  on  the  Trench 
Revolution."  Mr.  Fox  and  his  friends  defended  the  excesses  of 
that  execrable  movement  by  their  speeches  in  Parliament,  in  an- 
swer to  those  delivered  by  Burke  in  that  assemblage..  He  de- 
clared "  his  total  dissent  from  opinions  so  hostile  to  the  general 
principles  of  liberty  ;  and  which  he  was  grieved  to  hear  from  the 
lips  of  a  man  whom  he  loved  and  revered — by  whose  precepts 
he  had  been  taught,  by  whose  example  he  had  been  animated  to 
engage  in  their  defence.  He  vindicated  the  conduct  of  the 
French  army,  in  refusing  to  act  against  their  fellow-citizens,  from 
the  aspersions  of  Mr.  Burke,  who  had  charged  them  with  abetting 
an  abominable  sedition  by  mutiny  and  desertion — declaring  that, 
if  he  could  view  a  standing  military  force  with  less  constitutional 
jealousy  than  before,  it  was  owing  to  the  noble  spirit  manifested 
by  the  French  army,  who,  on  becoming  soldiers,  had  proved 
that  they  did  not  forfeit  their  character  as  citizens,  and  would 
not  act  as  the  mere  instruments  of  a  despot.  The  scenes  of 
bloodshed  and  cruelty  that  had  been  acted  in  France,  no  man,  said 
Mr.  Fox,  could  hear  of  without  lamenting.  But  when  the  griev- 
ous tyranny  that  the  people  had  so  long  groaned  under  was  con- 
sidered, the  excesses  they  had  committed  in  their  efforts  to  shake 
off  the  yoke  could  not  excite  our  astonishment  so  much  as  our 
regret.  And  as  to  the  contrast  which  Mr.  Burke  had  exhibited 
respecting  the  mode  in  which  the  two  revolutions  in  England 
and  France  were  conducted,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  sit- 
uation of  the  two  kingdoms  was  totally  different.  In  France,  a 
free  constitution  was  to  be  created.     In  England,  it  wanted  only 


256  '  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

to  be  secured.  If  the  fabric  of  government  in  England  suffered 
less  alteration,  it  was  because  it  required  less  alteration.  If  a 
general  destruction  of  the  ancient  constitution  had  taken  place  in 
France,  it  was  because  the  whole  system  was  radically  hostile 
to  liberty,  and  that  every  part  of  it  breathed  the  direful  spirit  of 
despotism." 

Sheridan,  one  of  the  most  gifted,  unprincipled,  and  pitiable 
of  men,  advocated  the  same  side  in  Parliament,  with  his  usually 
brilliant  and  sparkling  eloquence.  Said  he :  "  Tlie  people  of 
France,  it  is  true,  have  committed  acts  of  barbarity  and  blood- 
shed which  have  justly  excited  indignation  and  abhorrence. 
That  detestation  and  abhorrence,  however,  are  still  more  justly 
due  to  the  government  of  France  prior  to  the  revolution ;  the 
tyranny  and  oppression  of  which  had  deprived  the  people  of  the 
rights  of  men  and  of  citizens,  and  driven  them  to  that  degree  of 
desperation  which  could  alone  have  incited  those  unexampled 
acts  of  cruelty  and  revenge  which  had  been  practised  in  the  first 
agitation  and  violence  of  the  effort  to  regain  their  freedom. 
Could  it  be  expected,  that  men  in  their  situation  should  be  capa- 
ble of  acting  with  the  same  moderation  and  the  same  attention 
to  humanity  and  sensibility  as  characterized  freemen?  Were 
the  mad  outrages  of  a  mob  an  adequate  ground  for  branding  the 
national  assembly  with  the  stigma  of  being  a  bloody,  ferocious, 
and  tyrannical  democracy  ?  It  was  a  libel  on  that  illustrious 
body  thus  to  describe  them.  A  better  constitution  than  that 
•which  actually  existed,  it  is  allowed  that  France  had  a  right  to 
expect.  From  whom  were  they  to  receive  it?  From  the 
bounty  of  the  monarch  at  the  head  of  his  courtiers  ?  or  from  the 
patriotism  of  Marshal  Broglio  at  the  head  of  the  army  ?  From 
the  faint  and  feeble  cries  emitted  from  the  dark  dungeons  of  the 
bastile  ?  or  from  the  influence  and  energy  of  that  spirit  which 
had  laid  the  bastile  in  ashes  ?  The  people,  unhappily  misguided 
as  they  doubtless  were  in  particular  instances,  had  however  acted 
rightly  in  their  great  object.  They  had  placed  the  supreme  au- 
thority of  the  community  in  those  hands  by  whom  alone  it  could 
be  justly  exercised,  and  had  reduced  their  sovereign  to  the  rank 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  THIRD.  257 

which  properly  belonged  to  kings — that  of  administrator  of  the 
laws  established  by  the  free  consent  of  the  community."  *  The 
radicals  in  England  attempted  at  this  period  to  promote  the 
general  revolutionary  spirit  by  moving  in  Parliament  the  repeal 
of  the  Test  Act — the  great  object  of  the  abhorrence  of  the  Eng- 
lish Dissenters.  The  repeal  was  supported  by  Fox  and  Sheridan, 
but  opposed  by  Burke,  with  great  eloquence  and  earnestness ; 
and  the  motion  was  defeated  at  last  by  a  vote  of  nearly  three 
hundred  against  a  hundred  and  five.  This  result  clearly  indi- 
cated that,  however  much  the  French  people  might  have  gone 
mad  with  the  delirium  of  political  excitement,  the  sturdy  British 
nation  had  remained  uninfected  by  their  insanity,  in  any  consid- 
erable degree,  and  were  luiwilling  to  proceed  even  to  that  extent 
of  reform  which  was  consonant  with  the  principles  of  enlightened 
and  rational  liberty. 

Although  the  great  abilities  of  William  Pitt  were  still  devoted 
to  the  task  of  conducting  the  government,  it  was  with  the  utmost 
difficulty  that  its  financial  necessities  could  be  met.  A  circum- 
stance occurred  at  this  period  which  serves  to  illustrate  the  truth 
of  this  assertion.  The  minister  proposed  in  Parliament  to  take 
from  the  Bank  of  England  the  tmclaimed  dividends  which  re- 
mained in  it,  and  apply  them  to  the  payment  of  the  current 
expenses  of  the  government.  These  dividends  amounted  to 
about  five  hundred  thousand  pounds.  This  proposition,  the  in- 
justice of  which  must  be  apparent  to  every  intelligent  observer, 
immediately  incurred  a  tremendous  storm  of  opposition.  It  was 
urged  with  great  propriety,  that  the  measure  was  dangerous  and 
fraudulent  to  the  utmost  degree  ;  that  its  passage  would  under- 
mine the  confidence  and  safety  of  the  whole  mercantile  com- 
munity ;  that  the  charter  of  the  Bank  expressly  constituted  that 
institution  the  guardian  of  the  rights  of  the  depositors ;  that  the 
money  when  once  paid  remains  private  property  as  much  as 
before ;  that  dividends  which  had  not  remained  unclaimed  for 
three  years  could  not  properly  be  termed  unclaimed,  but  only 
tmreceived ;  that  the  dividends,  exclusive  of  those  of  the  last  three 

*  Belshxm'a  George  UL,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  436. 


258  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

years,  did  not  amount  to  a  fifth  part  of  the  sum  proposed  by  the 
minister  to  be  seized  ;  and  that  the  measure  was  in  reality  noth- 
ing else  than  an  act  of  public  and  governmental  robbery.  Not- 
withstanding these  conclusive  arguments,  so  great  was  the  pres- 
sure of  the  existing  necessity,  that  the  minister  was  enabled  to 
effect  a  loan  from  the  Bank  of  five  hundred  thousand  pounds 
without  interest,  to  remain  as  such,  as  long  as  a  floating  balance 
to  that  amount  should  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  Bank. 

The  public  tranquillity  was,  at  this  period,  disturbed  by  riots 
which  occurred  at  Birmingham,  which  were  produced  by  the 
prevalence  of  religious  excitement  on  the  subject  of  the  Trinity. 
Joseph  Priestley,  celebrated  both  as  a  philosopher  and  as  a  theo- 
logian, had  advocated,  with  great  learning  and  ability,  the  theory 
that  the  founder  of  Christianity  was  not  a  divine  personage,  but 
merely  a  great  teacher  and  prophet  sent  from  God,  who  demon- 
strated the  truth  of  his  doctrines  by  signs  and  wonders  which  the 
deity  performed  through  him.  He  also  condemned  religious 
establishments  as  being  prejudicial  to  the  progress  and  power 
of  pure  religion ;  as  well  he  might,  with  the  overwhelming  evi- 
dence which  the  worldliness,  selfishness,  and  profligacy  of  a  great 
portion  of  the  clergy  of  the  established  church  at  that  time  pre- 
sented. Those  whose  interests  were  injured,  or  whose  prejudices 
were  shocked,  by  the  views  of  Dr.  Priestleyj  incited  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  mob  to  such  an  extreme,  that  they  attacked  and  de- 
stroyed the  chapel  at  Birmingham  in  which  he  officiated,  and  ac- 
complished a  similar  outrage  upon  the  private  residence,  library, 
philosophical  apparatus,  and  other  property  of  the  great  Heresi- 
arch.  This  incident  serves  as  an  evidence  that  George  III.,  his 
advisers,  and  his  most  influential  subjects,  Avho  gave  tone  to  pub- 
lic sentiment  in  that  day,  had  been  taught  no  lesson  of  enlight- 
ened charity  or  liberality  by  the  thrilling  and  instructive  events 
of  the  American  Revolution. 

A  significant  event  of  1792,  of  a  similar  nature,  as  indicative 
of  the  conservative  feeling  which  prevailed  in  England,  was  the 
recall  of  Lord  Gower,  the  British  Ambassador  at  Paris.  This 
act  was  regarded   by  the   leading   revolutionists  of  France  as 


LITE   AND   REIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   THIRD.  259 

an  evidence  of  the  enmity  of  the  British  court  and  people  to  the 
new  order  of  things  then  progressing  in  that  country.  Nor  can 
we  wonder  at  or  condemn  this  step,  when  we  consider  the  horri- 
ble and  destructive  extremes  to  which  the  demagogues  and  assas- 
sins of  that  fated  land  were  destined  ultimately  to  arrive.  Mean- 
while, the  excesses  which  were  being  perpetrated  in  France  so 
incensed  or  terrified  the  grave  and  order-loving  English  nation, 
that  a  great  reaction  took  place  among  them  in  favor  of  conser- 
vatism and  royalty ;  and  innumerable  societies  were  formed 
throughout  the  kingdom  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  king, 
the  throne,  and  the  church.  The  populace  even  became  excited 
on  the  subject,  and  their  absurd  vociferations  in  favor  of  what 
they  neither  understood  nor  appreciated,  resounded  over  the  land 
from  the  hills  of  Cheviot  to  the  cliffs  of  Dover,  from  the  banks 
of  the  Tamar  to  those  of  the  Tweed.  This  feeling  was  promptly 
followed  up  by  the  policy  adopted  by  the  king  and  his  ministers. 
An  embargo  was  placed  on  vessels  freighted  for  France.  The 
militia  of  the  kingdom  were  increased,  embodied,  and  drilled. 
Parliament  was  convened  by  proclamation  before  the  day  ap- 
pointed in  the  last  prorogation,  as  if  some  great  public  crisis 
impended.  M.  Chauvelin,  the  French  Ambassador,  was  ordered 
to  depart  the  kingdom.  These  absurd  and  useless  demonstra- 
tions soon  led  to  the  results  which  might  have  been  confidently 
anticipated.  On  the  1st  of  February,  1793,  the  National  Assem- 
bly of  France  unanimously  passed  a  decree  declaring  war  against 
the  King  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Stadtholder  of  Holland.  The 
object  of  the  convention,  and  of  the  desperate  assassins  who 
governed  it,  in  thus  declaring  war  against  the  sovereigns  of  these 
countries,  and  not  against  the  people  or  nations  themselves,  was 
to  make  a  false  and  artificial  distinction  between  the  latter  and 
their  rulers,  and  if  possible  to  create  differences  and  jealousies  be- 
tween them.  That  those  who  at  that  time  ruled  France  did  not 
possess  the  sympathy  of  the  nation  in  their  declaration  of  hostil- 
ities against  England,  was  a  well-known  and  incontestible  fact.* 

*■  An  evidence  of  this  position  may  be  found  in  the  testimony  of  cotemporary 
travellers  in  France.     One  of  them  thus  wrote : 

"  During  the  whole  of  our  journey  (December,  1792,)  we  remarked  that  the 


260  HISTOET   OF  THE   FOUE   GEORGES. 

apprehension  of  a  vrav  with  England  was  peculiarly  painful  to  the  French. 
Though  flushed  with  their  late  successes,  and  confident  against  a  world  in  arms, 
it  was  evident  there  was  nothing  they  dreaded  more  than  such  an  event ;  not 
merely  on  account  of  the  mischief  that  might  ensue,  but  because  it  would  force 
them  to  regard  as  enemies  the  only  nation  in  Europe  they  considered  as  their 
friends.  All  along  the  road  they  anxiously  asked  us  what  we  thought  would  be 
the  consequence  of  the  armament  in  England  ?  We  frankly  told  them  we  pre- 
sumed it  would  be  war ;  and  generally  observed  a  moment  of  silence  and  dejec- 
tion follow  the  delivery  of  our  opinion.  The  imminence  of  hostilities,  however, 
in  no  degree  diminished  the  respect  they  showed  us  as  Englishmen :  and  not 
only  we  did  not  meet  with  any  thing  like  an  insult  in  the  whole  of  our  tour,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  we  experienced  everywhere  particular  kindness  and  attention. 
They  seemed  eager  to  court  our  opinion  ;  and  frequently  begged  iis  not  to  as- 
cribe to  a  whole  nation  the  faults  of  individuals,  and  not  to  charge  their  govern- 
ment with  disorders  its  present  state  of  vacillation  rendered  it  incompetent  to 
■repress.  I  confess  I  should  never  have  suspected  that  I  was  travelling  among  a 
nation  of  savages,  madmen,  and  assassins — I  should  rather  have  wished  with 
Shakespeare, 

" That  these  contending  kingdoms, 

England  and  France,  whose  very  shores  look  pale 

With  envy  of  each  other's  happiness, 

May  lose  their  hatred." 

Vide  "  Tour  through  the  Theatre  of  War,  1792." 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Events  of  the  War  -with  France — Increased  Unpopularity  of  the  King — He  is  assailed 
by  the  Populace — lie  is  fired  at  in  the  Theatre— The  Eoman  Catholic  Bill— Demand 
of  Bonaparte  that  the  French  Princes  be  expelled  from  England — Incidents  of  the 
Hostilities  which  ensued — Conspiracy  of  Robert  Eramet  in  Ireland — Its  Suppression 
— Decline  of  the  Addington  Ministry — Hostilities  with  France — Triumph  of  Nelson 
Bt  Trafalgar — Exultation  of  the  Nation — Death  of  'William  Pitt — He  is  succeeded  by 
Charles  James  Fox — His  short  Administration  and  Death— Lord  Howick — Mr.  Can- 
ning becomes  Foreign  Secretary — British  Victories  in  Spain  and  Portugal— Pro- 
digious Power  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 

The  events  of  the  war  which  ensued  were  not  so  fortunate  as  to 
be  adapted  .to  flatter  the  national  pride  in  any  great  degree,  while 
the  public  debts  and  burdens  were  thereby  vastly  augmented. 
The  Duke  of  York  was  sent  with  an  English  army  to  join  the 
Dutch  in  invading:  France.  Partial  success  at  first  attended  their 
efforts,  and  the  fortress  of  Valenciennes  was  taken.  The  fortified 
harbor  of  Toulon  also  became  the  trophy  of  British  prowess. 
But  the  events  of  the  second  campaign  were  entirely  disastrous 
to  the  enemies  of  France.  Toulon  was  retaken  by  the  exertions 
of  the  greatest  hero  of  modern  times ;  for  at  its  siege  the  name 
and  genius  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  first  attained  a  prominent 
place  in  history.  At  sea  Earl  Howe  subsequently  won  a  victory 
over  the  French  fleet  in  the  West  Indies ;  and  several  French 
colonies  were  transferred  from  the  jurisdiction  of  that  country 
to  the  possession  of  Britain.  Corsica  was  also  subdued,  and  the 
Anti-Gallican  party,  headed  by  the  famous  Paschal  Paoli,  ten- 
dered the  sovereignty  of  the  island  to  the  British  monarch.  The 
English  accordingly  took  possession ;  but  the  French  faction 
having  subsequently   gained    the  ascendency,   the   island   was 


262  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

evacuated   by   its   new   masters,   and   -was    again    annexed   to 
France. 

Tliesc  and  other  untoward  events  served  to  render  the  king 
very  unpopular  with  the  nation ;  and  he  was  destined  to  feel  the 
palpable  proofs  of  their  disaffection.  In  October,  1795,  as  he 
was  proceeding  to  the  House  of  Lords  he  was  assailed  by  the 
seditious  cries  of  the  multitude,  and  was  fired  at  by  an  assassin 
among  the  mob.  On  his  return  from  the  House,  his  carriage 
was  pelted  with  stones,  rubbish,  and  other  filth ;  while  the 
air  resounded  with  shouts  of  "  Bread,"  "  No  war,"  "  No  king." 
The  unhappy  monarch  was  much  alarmed  at  these  displays  of 
popular  hostility.  Nor  were  they  of  short  duration.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1796,  on  the  return  of  the  king  and  queen  from  Drury 
Lane  theatre,  a  stone  was  thrown  at  their  carriage  which  passed 
through  a  glass  panel,  and  struck  the  queen  in  the  face.  Not 
long  afterward  a  female  maniac  made  her  way  into  the  palace 
with  the  avowed  purpose  of  assassinating  the  queen — whom  she 
called  Mrs.  Guelph — and  her  mother.  In  addition  to  these  mor- 
tifications, George  III.  was  harassed  by  the  detestable  conduct  of 
the  heir  apparent,  the  Prince  of  Wales.  This  person  had  been 
married  in  1795,  as  will  be  more  minutely  related  hereafter,  to 
the  Princess  Caroline  of  Brunswick  ;  but  unhappy  differences, 
which  distracted  and  disgraced  the  royal  family,  took  place  be- 
tween them  shortly  after  their  nuptials.  In  many  ways  the 
Prince  of  Wales  annoyed  and  afflicted  his  father,  and  tended  to 
embitter  his  existence.  These  incidents  should  have  won  for  the 
king  the  popular  sympathy ;  but  such  w^as  not  the  case.  In 
May,  1800,  another  attempt  to  assassinate  him  was  made  by  an 
adventurer  named  Hatfield.  As  the  king  entered  his  box  at  the 
Drury  Lane  theatre,  and  was  in  the  act  of  bowing  to  the  audience, 
the  shot  was  fired  at  him  from  the  pit.  He  remained  perfectly  cool 
while  the  villain  was  apprehended,  and  then  sat  down  calmly  to 
witness  the  performance.  Having  returned  to  the  palace  he  re- 
marked to  the  queen  on  retiring  to  rest :  "  I  shall  sleep  soundly  ; 
and  my  prayer  is,  that  the  unhappy  prisoner,  who  aimed  at  my 
life,  may  rest  as  quietly  as  I  will." 


LIFE  AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   THIRD.  263 

All  these  unfortunate  incidents  gradually  tended  again  to  un- 
dermine the  harassed  intellect  of  the  king.  Other  causes  of  ir- 
ritation were  added  during  the  years  1801  and  1802,  The 
emancipation  of  the  Romanists  from  their  civil  disabilities  was 
a  measure  very  strongly  and  fiercely  urged  in  Parliament,  and 
by  a  powerful  party  in  the  nation.  To  this  measure  the  king 
was  earnestly  opposed  ;  and  he  believed  that  his  coronation  oath 
bound  him  to  unyielding  resistance  to  every  enlargement  of  lib 
erty  or  influence  to  that  dangerous  faction.  His  tendency  to 
mental  disease  was  also  aggravated  by  his  disputes  with  Mr. 
Pitt,  who  differed  from  the  monarch  widely  in  reference  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  and  other  questions.  Mr.  Pitt  at  length  resigned 
in  consequence  of  these  differences,  and  Mr.  Addington,  after- 
ward Lord  Sidmouth,  became  prime  minister.  Negotiations 
for  peace  were  immediately  commenced  with  France,  which  were 
eventually  consummated  by  the  treaty  of  Amiens  in  March, 
1802  ;  at  the  terms  of  which  the  English  nation  rejoiced,  but  of 
which  they  had  little  reason  to  be  proud. 

The  king,  during  the  mental  attack  which  occurred  at  this 
period,  remained  silent  for  many  hours  at  a  time ;  but  he  at 
length  remarked  after  coming  to  himself :  "  I  am  better  now,  but 
will  remain  true  to  the  church."  The  meaning  of  this  expression 
is  to  be  derived  from  the  fact,  that  the  Catholic  question  had  been 
uppermost  in  his  mind,  and  that  the  agitation  which  had  taken 
place  in  reference  to  it,  had  been  the  chief  cause  of  his  derange- 
ment. It  produced  the  same  effect  upon  him  which  the  loss  of 
his  American  colonies  had  done  upon  a  former  occasion.  As 
soon  as  the  king  felt  himself  conscious  of  the  recovery  of  his  in- 
tellect, he  sent  for  the  afilicted  queen  and  princesses ;  and  the 
interview  between  them  was  extremely  affecting.*  The  next 
day  he  sent  for  his  son,  the  Duke  of  York,  and  held  a  long  con- 
versation with  him.     For  this  prince  the  king  entertained  con- 

*  After  this  attack  of  insanity  had  begun,  Mr.  Addington  recommended  a 
^o/)j9i7^aw  for  the  king,  as  being  conducive  to  produce  sleep.  The  suggestion 
was  adopted  with  the  most  favorable  results,  and  the  repose  which  the  patient 
thus  obtained  soon  led  to  his  recovery.   Seo  Malmetbury  Diaries,  Vol.  iv.,  p.  46. 


264:  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

siderable  respect ;  and  with  him  he  spoke  freely  in  reference  to 
what  had  occurred  during  the  time  of  his  ilhiess.  He  at  length 
began  on  the  subject  of  the  Catholic  question  ;  but  the  prince, 
perceiving  that  his  father  was  becoming  painfully  excited  m 
reference  to  it,  kindly  stopped  him,  and  assured  him  that  Mr. 
Pitt  had  abandoned  all  intention  of  pressing  his  views  upon 
the  attention  of  Parliament.  George  III.  afterward  remarked  in 
reference  to  this  matter  to  Dr.  Willis,  one  of  his  physicians, 
when  speaking  of  Mr.  Pitt's  policy  :  "  What  has  not  he  to  an- 
swer for,  who  was  the  cause  of  my  late  illness."  *  The  Duke  of 
Portland  subsequently  declared,  that  the  king  had  assured  him 
that  he  would  rather  suffer  martyrdom  than  submit  to  the  meas- 
ure, or  approve  of  it.  It  was  affecting  to  witness  the  attachment 
of  the  monarch  to  his  wife.  He  frequently  exclaimed :  "  I  am  now 
perfectly  well,  and  my  queen,  my  queen  has  saved  me."  f  In  the 
fierce  and  bitter  disputes  which  now  took  place  between  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Wales,  the  king  uniformly  took  the  side  of  the 
latter  ;  and  when  her  husband  first  endeavored  to  remove  their 
daughter,  the  Princess  Charlotte,  from  the  keeping  of  her  mother, 
he  declared  :  "  The  princess  shall  have  her  child ;.  and  I  will 
speak  to  Mr.  Wyatt  about  building  a  wing  to  her  present 
house."  He  justly  detested  and  despised  the  Prince  of  Wales  in 
his  character  of  husband,  as  much  as  in  that  of  a  son  and  a 
subject. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the  ruler  of  France,  entertained  at  this 
period  the  most  hostile  feelings  against  the  British  nation.  He 
only  waited  for  a  pretext  to  recommence  hostilities  against 
them ;  nor  was  he  long  in  finding  one.  Some  members  of  the 
Bourbon  family  had  escaped  the  storms  of  the  revolution,  and 
had  taken  refuge  in  England.  The  Count  D'Artois  and  the 
Dukes  of  Orleans  and  Bourbon,  were  among  the  number. 
These  persons  had  been  received  by  George  III.  and  by  the  prin- 
cipal nobility  with  courteous  hospitality.  Mr.  Pitt,  Mr.  Wind- 
ham, and  other  leading  statesmen  had  met  these  princes  at  the 

*  Pellew's  Life,  dc,  of  Lord  Sidmouth,  Vol.  i.,  p.  309. 

t  Twiss's  Public  and  Private  Life  of  Lord  Eldon,  Vol.  i.,  p.  205. 


LIFE   AKD   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   THIRD.  265 

tables  of  Lord  Grenville,  and  the  Prince  Regent.  Many  of  the 
adherents  of  the  houses  of  Orleans  and  Bourbon  had  also  taken 
up  their  abode  in  England,  as  the  only  asylum,  in  Europe  secure 
from  the  destructive  rage  of  the  enemies  of  the  old  dynasty. 
The  British  press,  cither  through  their  influence,  or  without  it, 
teemed  with  the  most  abusive  articles  against  the  French  usurper 
and  adventurer.  Bonaparte  complained  that  every  wind  which 
blew  from  England  wafted  to  his  ears  nothing  but  slander  and 
ridicule  of  his  person  and  his  power.  lie  formally  demanded 
that  the  Bourbons  and  their  adherents  should  be  expelled  from 
British  soil,  and  that  the  press  be  restricted  in  its  allusions  to 
the  French  ruler. 

With  this  absurd  demand  the  king  and  his  cabinet  refused 
to  comply.  Angry  conferences  passed  between  Bonaparte  and 
Lord  Whitworth,  the  British  minister  at  Paris,  which  led  to  no 
favorable  result ;  and  on  the  19th  of  May,  1803,  war  was  de- 
clared reciprocally  between  the  hostile  powers  at  the  same  time, 
and  without  concert.  Preparations  for  carrying  on  the  conflict 
were  made  on  both  sides  ;  but  the  greater  energy  and  success 
were  on  the  part  of  the  French.  General  Mortier  overran  the 
Electorate  of  Hanover,  and  the  Hanse  towns,  Hamburg  and  Bre- 
men, were  laid  under  heavy  contributions.  All  the  English  res- 
idents in  France  were  detained  as  prisoners  of  war.  The  Eng- 
lish, on  their  part,  blockaded  with  their  fleets  the  mouths  of  the 
Elbe  and  the  Weser,  and  thus  inflicted  serious  injury  on  the 
commerce  of  France  and  her  allies.  Another  squadron  under 
the  command  of  Commodore  Hood  attacked  the  French  works 
on  the  island  of  St.  Lucie,  and  compelled  them  to  surrender. 
Similar  results  followed  at  St.  Domingo,  Demerara,  Essequibo, 
and  Berbice. 

The  congratulation  which  this  series  of  successes  produced, 
was  diminished  by  the  outbreak  of  a  dangerous  conspiracy  which 
occurred  at  this  period  in  Ireland,  The  leader  in  the  movement 
W'as  a  young  and  enthusiastic  lover  of  liberty,  whose  name  and 
eloquence  have  since  justly  become  historical.  Robert  Emmet, 
one  of  the  most  gifted  men  of  his  age,  indulged  the  sanguine  hope 
12 


266       msTOKT  OF  the  rorK  geokges. 

that  his  oppressed  countrymen,  under  his  guidance,  would  be  able 
to  elevate  their  native  land  from  the  position  of  degradation  and 
dependence  to  which  she  had  been  reduced  by  British  tyranny, 
and  place  her  honorably  among  the  catalogue  of  independent  na- 
tions. He  proposed  to  establish  a  separate  Irish  republic,  by 
striking  a  decisive  blow  in  the  capital,  by  obtaming  possession 
of  the  seat  of  government,  by  proclaiming  a  new  and  liberal  con- 
stitution, and  by  thus  completely  overturning  the  detested  des- 
potism of  Britain  in  his  native  land.  On  the  23d  of  July,  1803, 
an  assembly  of  his  partisans,  forming  an  immense  and  tumultu- 
ous mob,  marched  through  the  streets  of  Dublin,  and  proceeded 
to  attack  the  castle  of  the  viceroy.  Tliey  were  assailed  in  turn 
by  a  hundred  and  fifty  regular  troops,  and,  after  a  short  contest, 
were  entirely  vanquished  and  dispersed.  The  whole  insurrection 
had  been  planned  and  executed  with  the  rash  precipitancy  and 
short-sighted  enthusiasm,  which  usually  characterize  the  move- 
ments of  inexperienced  youth.  Emmet  and  his  chief  associates 
were  taken,  tried,  convicted,  sentenced,  and  executed.  The 
brightest  and  best  record  of  his  fame  and  genius  is  to  be  found 
in  the  thrilling  and  powerftil  speech  which  he  delivered  in  his 
own  defense,  in  vindication  of  his  unfortunate  associates,  and  in 
deprecation  of  the  mortal  wrongs  of  his  bleedhag  country,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  trial  for  high  treason  in  Dublin,  before  a  special 
commission  appointed  by  the  king. 

The  ministry,  of  which  Mr.  Addington  was  the  chief,  rapidly 
declined  in  influence.  Various  causes  led  to  this  result,  among 
which  one  of  the  most  prominent  was  the  ineflSciency  with  which 
the  war  had  been  conducted  on  the  continent.  On  the  12th  of 
May,  1804,  the  nation  was  gratified  with  the  intelligence  that 
Mr.  Addington  had  resigned,  and  that  the  helm  of  government 
had  been  again  confided  to  the  skilful  and  powerful  hands  of 
William  Pitt.  For  the  last  time  this  great  man  ascended  to  the 
highest  dignity  in  the  realm  accessible  to  a  subject.  Other  im- 
portant changes  now  took  place  in  the  cabinet.  Lord  Melville 
became  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  Lord  Harborough,  Secretary 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  Lord  Camden,  Secretary  of  War  and 


LIFE   ANB  EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   THIED.  267 

the  Colonies,  Immediate  steps  were  taken  by  the  new  minister 
to  secure  the  military  defense  of  the  country  against  the  formi- 
dable power  of  Napoleon.  By  the  plan  which  he  proposed,  and 
carried  in  Parliament,  a  large  standing  army  was  raised,  and 
every  citizen  of  a  certain  age  was  transformed  to  some  extent 
into  a  soldier,  ready  at  any  moment  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
threatened  encroachments  of  the  common  foe.  In  December  of 
this  year,  the  Spanish  monarch,  under  the  controlling  influence 
of  Napoleon,  declared  war  against  England ;  which  event  in- 
creased the  difficulties  and  dangers  which  harassed,  yet  did  not 
intimidate,  the  country. 

The  year  1805  was  rendered  remarkable,  among  other  events, 
by  an  autograph  letter  addressed  by  Napoleon  to  George  III.,  in 
which  he  set  forth  the  advantages  of  peace,  and  professed  himself 
desirous  of  realizing  them.  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  he  proposed  no 
definite  conditions  on  which  pacific  relations  could  be  established.* 
The  answer  of  the  British  ministry,  which  was  conveyed  through 
Lord  Mulgrave  to  M.  Talleyrand,  declared  that  no  positive  ar- 
rangements could  be  made  on  the  subject,  until  the  English  gov- 
ernment had  conferred  with  their  allies  on  the  continent,  especi- 
ally with  the  Emperor  Alexander  of  Russia.  This  reply  ter- 
minated the  correspondence,  and  hostilities  were  resumed. 
Bonaparte  fitted  out  a  powerful  fleet  in  the  port  of  Toulon  with 
the  express  design  of  invading  England.  The  fleet  set  sail,  and 
ultimately  steered  for  the  West  Indies  under  the  command  of 

*  "  Your  Jfajesty,"  said  Napoleon,  "  has  gained  more,  within  ten  years,  both 
in  territory  and  riches,  than  the  whole  extent  of  Europe.  Your  nation  is  at  the 
highest  point  of  prosperity ;  what  can  it  hope  from  war  ?  To  form  a  coalition 
with  some  powers  on  the  continent  ?  The  continent  will  remain  tranquil ;  a 
coalition  can  only  increase  the  preponderance  and  continental  greatness  of 
France.  To  renew  intestine  troubles  ?  The  times  are  no  longer  the  same.  To 
destroy  our  finances  ?  Finances  founded  on  a  flourishing  agriculture  can  never 
be  destroyed.  To  take  from  France  her  colonies  ?  The  colonies  are  to  France 
only  a  secondary  object ;  and  does  not  your  majesty  alreadj-  possess  more  than 
you  know  how  to  preserve  ?  If  your  majesty  would  but  reflect,  you  must  per- 
ceive that  the  war  is  without  an  object,  without  any  presumable  result  to  your- 
self." See  Jlistori/  of  the  Eeign  of  George  III,  by  Jiohert  Jiissett,  LL.D.  '  Vol. 
iii.,  p.  02. 


268  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

Admiral  Villeneuve.  His  armament  consisted  of  eighteen  sail 
of  the  line,  ten  thousand  veteran  soldiers,  beside  a  full  comple- 
ment of  seamen.  Lord  Nelson  had  been  placed  in  command  of 
the  British  fleet  intended  to  meet  and  attack  the  French  squad- 
ron. Subsequently  the  latter  was  augmented  to  twenty-seven 
sail  of  the  line,  by  the  addition  of  some  Spanish  ships.  Lord 
Nelson  was  still  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  when,  on  the  21st  of 
October,  they  were  descried  sailing  off  Cape  Trafalgar  on  their 
way  to  Gibraltar.  The  English  fleet  had  also  been  increased  to 
the  number  of  twenty-seven  sail.  The  combatants  were  thus 
equal  in  strength ;  and  that  great  victory  ensued  which  is  perhaps 
the  most  brilliant  and  illustrious  in  the  naval  annals  of  the  boast- 
ed mistress  of  the  seas.  Nineteen  French  ships  of  the  line,  to- 
gether with  their  Admiral,  were  taken  by  the  British,  and  fifteen 
hundred  of  the  enemy  were  slain.  The  news  of  this  splendid 
triumph  convulsed  the  nation  with  joy.  No  such  exultation  had 
been  seen  throughout  the  realm,  since  the  memorable  day  when 
the  victory  of  Blenheim  crushed  the  prodigious  power  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  covered  the  British  arms  with  fadeless  glory.  The 
only  restraint  upon  the  universal  congratulation  was  the  death 
of  Nelson,  who  expired  from  a  gun-shot  wound  two  hours  after 
the  termination  of  the  conflict. 

The  triumph  of  Trafalgar  put  an  end  for  ever,  to  all  Napo- 
leon's designs  in  reference  to  the  actual  invasion  of  England.  He 
still  continued  his  marvellous  career  of  conquest  on  the  conti- 
nent. Battle  after  battle,  and  victory  after  victory,  attested  the 
supremacy  of  his  matchless  military  genius.  His  triumphant 
legions  entered  almost  every  capital  in  Europe  ;  and  he  set  up 
and  pulled  down  kings  at  his  pleasure.  A  long  series  of  sue 
cessful  engagements,  among  which  those  of  Ulm  and  Austerlitz 
were  the  most  important,  won  for  the  Emperor  of  the  French 
the  iron  crown  of  Italy.  The  British  soil  remained  intact  amid 
the  convulsive  throes  of  the  nations ;  for  no  foreign  foe  invaded 
it.  While  thus  exulting  in  the  happy  exemption  which  they  en- 
joyed, the  British  people  were  called  to  mourn  the  sudden  death 
of  the  great  minister  who  then  guided  so  ably  the  helm  of  state. 


LIFE  AKD   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  THIED.  269 

William  Pitt  expired  on  the  23d  of  January,  180G,  in  the  forty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age,  after  having  occupied  the  post  of  prime 
minister  during  a  longer  period  than  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any 
previous  minister,  during  the  reigns  of  the  Georges,  He  had 
labored,  and  that  with  eminent  success,  to  increase  the  maritime 
power  of  England  ;  to  resist  the  spread  of  revolutionary  princi- 
ples ;  to  oppose  the  encroachments  of  the  great  Corsican  upon 
.  the  power  and  influence  of  his  country  ;  to  form  continental  al- 
liances which  would  prove  serviceable  in  resisting  the  common 
foe,  and  in  advancing  the  internal  prosperity,  elevation,  and  im- 
provement of  the  nation  over  whom  he  ruled.  His  death  was 
a  national  calamity ;  and  none  felt  it  more  deeply  or  keenly  than 
the  king  himself. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  Pitt,  Charles  James  Fox,  his  great  rival, 
became  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affiiirs.  Mr.  Windham 
was  appointed  Secretary  for  the  Department  of  War  and  the 
Colonies ;  Lord  Grenville,  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury ;  Lord 
Erskine,  High  Chancellor ;  and  Mr.  Sheridan,  Treasurer  of  the 
Navy.  On  the  accession  of  Mr.  Fox,  hopes  were  entertained 
that  peace  might  be  established  with  the  French  Emperor,  inas- 
much as  he  was  well  known  to  be  on  terms  of  personal  friend- 
ship with  that  ambitious  potentate ;  nor  is  it  improbable  that 
the  negotiations  which  ensued  would  have  been  successful,  had 
not  the  British  minister  been  compelled  by  a  sense  of  honor  to 
insist  that  Russia  shotild  be  admitted  to  a  share  in  the  delibera- 
tions. To  this  measure  Bonaparte  was  obstinately  opposed,  and 
he  thus  rendered  all  pacific  intentions  on  the  part  of  the  British 
government  utterly  abortive. 

Mr.  Fox  was  destined  to  retain  the  reins  of  power  but  a 
short  time,  and  to  follow  his  celebrated  rival  to  the  silence  of 
the  tomb  a  few  months  after  his  departure.  In  August,  1806, 
he  proposed  in  Parliament  the  last  measure  which  may  be  said 
to  have  originated  with  him,  and  which  was  worthy  of  so  brilliant 
and  splendid  a  career.  He  moved  a  resolution,  asserting  that 
the  African  slave-trade  was  contrary  to  the  principles  of  justice, 
humanity,  and  sound  policy ;  that  it  be  abolished,  and  its  practice 


270  HISTOKT   OF   THE   FOTJE   GEOEGES. 

be  deemed  piracy  throughout  the  British  dominions.  The  mo- 
tion was  carried  in  both  houses,  and  at  once  received  the  approval 
of  the  king.  On  the  13th  of  the  next  month,  September,  1806, 
Mr.  Fox  expired,  in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of  his  age ;  and  his 
mortal  remains,  shattered  by  the  prodigious  conflicts  through 
which  he  had  passed  during  twenty-five  years  of  active  parlia- 
mentary life,  were  laid,  to  take  their  last  long  slumber,  in  the 
same  consecrated  mould  in  Westminster  Abbey,  which  contained 
the  forms  of  his  illustrious  rival,  and  of  the  immortal  ancestors 
of  both.  Lord  Howick  was  appointed  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs  in  the  place  of  the  deceased  statesman,  for  whose  loss  a 
nation,  not  much  given  to  the  luxury  or  the  weakness  of  tears, 
sincerely  and  universally  wept. 

The  administration  of  Lord  Howick,  which  proved  to  be  of 
short  duration,  was  remarkable  only  for  the  final  abolition  of 
slavery  in  the  British  dominions,  by  the  passage  of  a  law  which 
appointed  the  first  of  January,  1808,  as  the  latest  date  at  which 
the  inhuman  traffic  would  be  permitted  in  any  portion  of  the 
land  or  sea  over  which  the  flag  of  Britain  waved.  This  law  re- 
ceived the  hearty  approbation  of  the  king. 

Lord  Howick  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Canning  as  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  on  the  25th  of  March,  1807.  The  chief  incident 
of  this  year  was  the  war  with  Denmark,  which  country  had  be- 
come the  ally  of  Napoleon.  A  British  fleet  attacked  Copen- 
hagen, which  capitulated  after  a  bombardment  of  three  days. 
The  British  army  took  possession  of  the  city,  dockyards,  arsenals, 
eighteen  ships,  and  all  the  naval  stores  which  were  found 
in  the  capital.  The  Danes  endeavored  to  retaliate ;  they  har- 
assed the  British  traders  in  the  Baltic ;  British  property  was 
confiscated  throughout  the  kingdom ;  and  all  correspondence 
with  England  was  prohibited.  The  Emperor  of  Kussia  also  be- 
came the  friend  of  Denmark,  and  condemned  the  precipitate 
hostilities  against  that  country  which  had  been  perpetrated. 
Bonaparte's  retributive  decree  of  Milan,  excluding  British  mer- 
chandise from  all  the  ports  of  the  continent  subject  to  his  influ- 
ence, greatly  crippled  British  commerce,  and  spread  a  gloomy 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE  TIIIKD.  271 

feeling  of  apprehension  over  the  nation.  The  prodigious  strides 
toward  universal  conquest  which  Napoleon  was  making,  added 
intensity  to  this  feeling.  During  the  year  1808  a  treaty  was 
negotiated  with  Spain  and  Portugal ;  and  a  British  army  was 
sent  under  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  to  expel  the  French  forces 
from  those  kingdoms.  The  success  which  attended  the  move- 
ments of  this  »T,blc  General,  gradually  increased  the  public  confi- 
dence.* In  January,  1809,  Sir  John  Moore  gained  a  decisive 
victory  over  Marshal  Soult  at  Corunna.  Subsequently,  Wellesley 
expelled  the  Marshal  from  Oporto,  and  compelled  both  him  and 
the  gallant  Ney  to  retire  into  Castile.  The  battle  of  Talavera 
added  to  the  lustre  of  the  Bi'itish  arms,  by  the  defeat  of  Mar- 
shal Victor.  During  the  years  1809  and  1810,  the  attention 
of  the  British  people  and  government  was  chiefly  enlisted  in  the 
prodigious  events  which  were  transpiring  on  the  continent.  In 
Spain,  the  various  vicissitudes  of  the  war  of  the  succession 
finally  resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  from 
Madrid,  and  the  total  deliverance  of  Spain  and  Portugal  from 
the  presence  and  power  of  the  French.  Austria  declared  war  at 
this  period  against  Napoleon,  and  the  combatants  made  a  trial 
of  their  strength  at  the  great  battle  of  Aspcrn.  Both  parties 
claimed  the  victory.  At  the  battle  of  Wagram  which  followed, 
the  result  was  not  so  equivocal ;  and  the  French  gained  an  over- 
whelming triumph.  The  result  of  the  ruin  of  the  Austrian  army 
was  the  marriage  of  the  conqueror  to  the  daughter  of  his  im- 
perial and  vanquished  foe,  and  the  elevation  of  the  Archduchess 
Maria  Louisa  to  the  vacant  seat  of  the  discarded  Josephine  upon 
the  throne  of  France.  The  hereditary  successor  of  the  prince  of 
the  apostles  at  Rome  was  dragged  by  the  giant  arm  of  the  Cor- 
sican  from  his  sacred  seat,  deprived  of  his  secular  authority, 
and  conveyed  as  a  prisoner  to  Avignon.  The  Ecclesiastical 
States  were  then  amiexed  to  the  swelling  bulk  of  the  French 
Empire.     Prussia  was  prostrated  beneath  the  feet  of  the  con- 

*  See  Gormderations  on  the  Causes,  Objects,  and  Consequences  of  the  Present 
War,  and  on  the  Expediency  or  Danger  of  Feace  with  France.  By  William 
Boscoe.    London,  1808. 


272  HISTORY   OF  THE  FOUK   GEOKGES. 

queror ;  for  he  had  crushed  her  at  the  decisive  battle  of  Jena. 
Holland,  Westj^halia,  and  Italy  acknowledged  the  absolute  su- 
premacy of  this  modern  Alexander ;  while  the  whole  continent 
trembled  with  the  dread  of  his  colossal  power.  At  this  period 
the  intellectual  life  of  the  British  monarch  may  be  said  to  have 
terminated  for  ever.  The  light  of  his  reason  failed  at  a  time 
when  apprehension  and  gloom  oppressed  the  hearts  of  his  sub- 
jects. The  attack  under  which  George  III.  now  suffered,  and 
which  began  in  January,  1811,  was  regarded  even  by  the  mon- 
arch's friends,  as  so  violent  and  hopeless,  that  on  the  sixth  of 
February,  his  eldest  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  was  installed  as 
Regent  with  regal  authority.  The  death  of  the  amiable  Princess 
Amelia,  the  favorite  daughter  of  the  king,  in  November,  1810, 
had  been  the  immediate  cause  of  the  final  overthrow  of  his  mind, 
in  connection  with  the  disastrous  events  which  had  recently  oc- 
curred in  various  portions  of  the  Empire. 


CIIAPTEE   X. 


Renewed  and  Ilopeless  Insanity  of  George  III. — Details  respecting  the  Origin,  Nature, 
and  Effects  of  his  Mental  Disease — His  Physicians — Ilis  Treatment— Uis  Condition 
oft'icially  communicated  to  Parliament — A  Kegoncy  permanently  appointed — 
Gradual  Decline  of  the  Health  of  George  III.— War  with  the  United  States  of 
America— Growth  of  the  Power  and  Supremacy  of  Napoleon — His  Overthrow  by 
the  European  Coalition — His  Ketirement  at  Elba. 


The  insanity  of  George  III.  presents  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
phenomena  contained  in  psychological  history.  He  was  afflicted 
during  his  lifetime  with  five  separate  attacks  of  mental  disease. 
The  first  occurred  in  1765,  when  he  was  in  his  twenty-eighth 
year;  the  second  was  in  1788,  the  third  in  1801,  the  fourth  in 
1804,  and  the  last  in  January,  1811.  None  of  these  attacks,  ex- 
cept the  last,  exceeded  six  months  in  duration.  There  was  noth- 
ing in  his  constitution  or  mental  habits  to  render  such  an  affec- 
tion probable.  His  intellectual  faculties,  though  moderate,  were 
well-proportioned,  and  no  marked  deficiency  characterized  his 
natural  powers.  He  was  possessed  of  a  strong  and  healthy  frame, 
which  had  never  been  enervated  by  the  excesses  of  passion,  or  by 
any  sensual  indulgences  whatever.  He  took  a  great  deal  of  exer- 
cise, amused  himself  frequently  with  the  pleasures  of  music  and 
the  drama  ;  and  was  so  fond  of  inspecting  the  useful  and  healthfid 
operations  of  agriculture,  that  he  deservedly  received  the  epithet 
of  "  Farmer  George."  He  was,  moreover,  extremely  abstemious 
in  eating  and  drinking,  and  observed  with  great  strictness  all 
the  rules  of  propriety  in  thought,  word,  and  deed.  That  such 
a  man,  whose  reign  extended  nominally  during  the  unparalleled 
period  of  sixty  years,  and  none  of  whose  ancestors  or  family  had 
12* 


274  HISTOKY   OF   THE   FOrE   GEORGES. 

been  similarly  diseased,  should  be  afflicted  with  insanity,  and  that 
eventually  in  an  incurable  form,  was  singular  indeed. 

The  king's  first  physicians  when  thus  attacked,  were  Sir 
George  Baker,  Dr.  Warren,  Sir  Lucas  Pepys,  Drs.  Reynolds, 
Addington,  and  Gisborne.  None  of  these  persons  possessed  any 
peculiar  skill  or  experience  m  the  treatment  of  mental  diseases ; 
and  therefore  the  Rev.  Francis  Willis  was  added  to  their 
number.  He  was  a  clergyman  of  the  established  church,  who 
had  charge  of  a  parish  in  Lincolnshire ;  but  he  had  carefully 
studied  the  subject  of  insanity,  had  practised  a  great  deal  in  that 
department  of  medical  science,  and  had  attained  wonderful  suc- 
cess and  great  repute.  He  had  provided  an  establishment  for 
the  treatment  of  the  insane  at  Gretford,  which  was  filled  with 
patients,  many  of  whom  had  greatly  benefited  by  his  treatment. 
At  the  period  when  he  undertook  the  care  of  the  insane  king,  he 
was  an  aged  man,  and  a  person  of  great  cheerfulness,  firmness 
and  benevolence.*  His  first  introduction  to  his  patient  was 
marked  by  an  amusing  incident.  The  latter  asked  him  "  whether 
he,  as  a  clergyman,  was  not  ashamed  to  exercise  the  profession 
of  a  doctor."  Willis  answered :  "  Sir,  our  Saviour  himself  went 
about  healing  the  sick."  "  Yes,"  replied  the  king,  "  but  he  did 
not  get  seven  hundred  pounds  a  year  for  it."f  Dr.  Willis  asso- 
ciated his  son  John  with  him  in  his  treatment  of  their  august 
patient,  who  was  confined  to  his  apartments  in  the  palace. 
One  attendant  and  one  page  were  constantly  required  to  remain 
in  his  room.  The  remedies  which  were  given  him  were  chiefly 
bark  and  saline  medicines,  and  sometimes  blisters  were  applied 
to  his  legs.  He  was  secluded  in  a  great  measure  from  his  family, 
his  ministers  and  his  friends  ;  and  sometimes  he  was  even  placed 
in  a  straight  jacket,  when  his  paroxysms  became  violent.  Tliis 
extreme  was  resorted  to  by  way  of  discipline,  perhaps  oftener 
than  was  necessary ;  and  it  was  a  sad  spectacle  to  behold  the 
monarch  of  a  great  empire  thus  subjected  to  the  most  degrading 

*  See  WraxalV&  Posthumous  Memoirs  of  his  Own  Time.    Philadelphia  Edi- 
tion, p.  447. 

t  Lord  Malmesbury's  Diaries,  dc.    Vol.  iv.,  p.  317. 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE  THIKD.  275 

of  indignities.*  The  mastery  which  the  elder  Willis  obtained 
over  the  mind  or  the  instinct  of  his  patient,  may  be  illustrated  by 
an  incident  which  occurred  on  the  occasion  of  the  examination  of 
the  physician  before  a  committee  of  Parliament,  of  which  Ed- 
mund Burke  Avas  a  member.  Willis  had  allowed  the  king  to 
have  a  razor  and  a  penknife  in  his  hands,  at  a  time  when  every 
other  observer  regarded  the  act  as  perilous  in  the  extreme. 
Burke  asked  him  how  he  would  have  controlled  the  king  had  he 
suddenly  become  violent  while  these  instruments  were  in  his  pos- 
session, and  had  attempted  harm  to  himself  or  to  others.  Willis 
placed  the  candle  near  his  fice,  and  answered :  "  There,  sir,  by  the 
eye ;  I  would  have  looked  at  him  thus,  sir,"  at  the  same  time  as- 
suming a  basilisk  expression  which  compelled  Burke  instantly  to 
avert  his  view  from  the  spectacle.  It  is  also  asserted  that  Willis 
confounded  Sheridan,  a  member  of  the  same  committee,  in  a  simi- 
lar manner,  on  the  same  occasion.  Said  he  :  "  Pray,  sir,  before  you 
begin,  be  so  good  as  to  snuff  the  candles,  that  we  may  see  clear, 
for  I  always  like  to  see  the  face  of  the  man  I  am  speaking  to." 
Sheridan,  the  most  impudent  and  brazen-faced  of  men,  was  so 
overcome  by  this  salute,  that  he  was  utterly  unable  to  proceed.f 
The  last  attack  under  which  the  king  suffered,  was  more  vio- 
lent than  the  others  which  had  preceded  it,  and  was  more  nearly 
allied  to  delirium  than  to  insanity  or  mere  derangement.  The 
incidents,  therefore,  comiccted  with  his  life  were  more  painflil 
and  affecting,  as  his  case  became  more  desperate  and  hopeless. 
These  incidents  became  gradually  known,  and  elicited  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  nation.  The  state  of  the  king  was  officially  com- 
municated to  Parliament  from  time  to  time,  and  became  the 
subject  of  lengthy  public  discussions.J  A  difference  of  opinion 
existed  among  his  physicians  as  to  the  possibility  of  his  recovery, 
some  indulging  the  hope  that  the  attack  might  end  flivorably,  and 
some  regarding  the  disease  as  incurable.  His  feelings  were  of 
a  varied  character  ;  at  times  he  was  elated,  frivolous  and  extrava- 
gant, Avhile  at  others   he  was  gloomy,  silent   and  depressed. 

*  Wraxall's  Postlmmou^  Memoirs,  p.  520. 

t  Swinburne's  Courts  of  Europe.    Vol.  ii.,  p.  75. 

X  HansarcCs  Farliamentary  Debates,  First  Series,  xix. 


276  mSTOEY  OF  THE  FOUR  GE0EGE3. 

Some  of  his  delusions  were  singular,  exhibiting  a  mixture  of  sim- 
plicity and  shrewdness.  On  one  occasion  he  appeared  to  be  ad- 
dressing his  conversation  to  two  of  his  personal  friends  who  had 
long  been  dead.  Sir  Henry  Halford,  w'ho  was  present,  remarked 
to  him,  that  the  persons  to  whom  he  spoke  had  been  deceased 
many  years.  The  king  replied  :  "  True,  dead  to  you  and  to  the 
world  in  general ;  but  not  dead  to  me.  You  forget  that  I  have 
the  power  of  holding  converse  with  those  whom  you  call  dead, 
and  it  is  in  vain  for  you,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  to  kill  some 
of  your  patients."* 

For  some  years  the  last  attack  to  which  the  king  was  subject- 
ed, merely  unfitted  him  for  the  performance  of  his  high  and  re- 
sponsible regal  functions,  and  was  not  an  entire  overthrow  of  the 
powers  of  reason.  During  this  period  he  enjoyed  short  intervals 
W'hich  might  almost  be  termed  lucid.  He  sometimes  took  a 
deep  interest  in  politics  ;  his  perception  was  tolerably  clear,  his 
memory  very  accurate,  but  his  judgment  was  fallacious  and  un- 
reliable. On  one  occasion  the  queen  entered  his  apartment  while 
he  was  singing  a  hymn,  and  accompanying  himself  on  the  harp- 
sichord. He  then  knelt  down,  prayed  for  his  family,  his  subjects, 
and  for  his  own  recovery  to  health  and  saneness.  On  another 
occasion  he  heard  the  church  bell  toll,  and  inquired  of  his  attend- 
ant for  whom  it  was  rung.  Being  answered,  he  replied  :  "  She 
was  a  good  woman,  has  gone  to  heaven,  and  I  hope  soon  to  fol- 
low her."  With  the  progress  of  time,  however,  the  unfortunate 
monarch  became  worse,  both  mentally  and  physically.  In  1819 
his  appetite  failed  him ;  in  1820  it  Avas  with  difficulty  that  he 
was  kept  warm ;  he  was  reduced  to  a  skeleton ;  and  remained 
scarcely  conscious  of  existence  until,  on  the  29th  of  January, 
1820,  he  quietly  sank  into  the  arms  of  death,  in  the  eighty- 
second  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  reign. 

While  the  British  monarch  was  thus  removed  from  the  exer- 
cise of  his  royal  functions  after  October,  1810,  the  attention  of 
the  nation  was  chiefly  enlisted  in  the  momentous  events  which 
were  transpiring  on  the  continent,  in  the  issue  of  which  their 

*  CampbdVa  Lives  of  the  Lord,  Chancellors.    Vol.  tu.,  p.  221. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIED.  2Y7 

own  security  was  deeply  involved.  Napoleon  still  continued 
his  career  of  triumph,  and  with  the  exception  of  Spain,  Portugal, 
and  Kussia,  may  be  said  to  have  laid  the  whole  continent  at  his 
feet.  The  interest  of  the  English  people  was  for  a  time  divided 
between  these  momentous  events,  and  those  connected  with  the 
hostilities  which  were  then  waged  with  the  United  States.  On  the 
18th  of  June,  1812,  the  latter  power  declared  war  against  Great 
Britain,  and  brilliant  victories  were  gained  by  the  fleet  of  the 
young  republic  over  the  ships  of  the  mother  country.  On  land, 
General  Hull  surrendered  Fort  Detroit  and  twenty-five  hundred 
men  with  thirty  pieces  of  ordnance  to  the  British  General  Brock. 
On  Lake  Erie,  six  British  vessels  were  destroyed  or  taken  by  an 
equal  squadron  of  the  Americans.  The  capitol  of  the  Confederacy 
at  Washington  was  attacked,  taken,  and  the  public  buildings  of 
the  Federal  Government  burnt.  The  contest  was  honorable  and 
profitable  to  neither  party  ;  and  peace  was  at  length  proclaimed 
between  the  belligerents,  by  the  establishment  of  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1814. 

Meanwhile  the  insatiable  ambition  of  Bonaparte  was  over- 
reaching itself  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  He  determined  to 
invade  the  Russian  dominions  with  a  vast  army,  and  subject  them 
also  to  his  sway.  Five  hundred  thousand  men,  fully  equipped, 
with  a  prodigious  array  of  artillery,  passed  the  Niemen,  and 
directed  their  march  towards  the  walls  of  Moscow.  Then  follow- 
ed an  expedition  which  has  no  parallel  in  history.  The  Russians 
defended  their  territory  with  a  degree  of  heroism  which  rivalled 
that  of  the  Spartans  at  Thermopylae.  Great  battles  were  fought, 
in  which  the  proud  Corsican  was  humbled,  and  the  most  fear- 
ful slaughter  made  of  his  veteran  heroes,  who  had  been  trium- 
phant on  a  hundred  fields  of  blood  ;  for  the  carnage  of  Borodino 
has  no  equal  in  the  amials  of  war.  The  mvader  was  expelled 
with  ignominy  from  the  hostile  territory ;  his  power  broken,  his 
army  buried  beneath  the  frozen  snows  of  Russia,  and  his  throne 
shaken  to  its  very  foundations.  Twenty-five  thousand  regular 
troops  recrossed  the  Niemen,  the  wrecks  of  the  myriads  who 
had  proudly  passed  over  it  six  months  before,  with  all  the  glo- 


278  HISTOKT   OF  THE  FOUK   GEORGES. 

rious  pomp  and  majesty  of  war.  Thus  weakened,  the  usurper 
was  soon  compelled  to  confront  a  formidable  conspiracy  of  n^ 
tions,  who  combined  to  crush  him,  and  tear  him  from  his  throne. 
He  confronted  them  at  Lutzen,  Bautzen,  Dresden,  Leipsic,  and 
on  other  immortal  fields,  sometimes  obtaining  triumphs,  some- 
times suffering  defeats,  but  always  remaining  heroic  and  undaunt- 
ed. Destiny  seemed  to  turn  against  her  favorite  child ;  and  he 
was  compelled  to  obey  her  firm  behest  in  adversity  as  well  as  in 
prosperity.  England,  united  with  her  contmental  allies,  at 
length  achieved  the  overthrow  of  the  most  fierce  and  formidable 
enemy  who  had  ever  assailed  her  power  or  her  existence ;  and 
Napoleon  at  last  abdicated  the  throne  which  he  had  usurped,  but 
which  he  had  adorned  with  such  matchless  splendor.  He  ac- 
cepted the  diminutive  diadem  of  Elba,  and  there  for  a  short 
period  reposed  the  energies  which  had  shaken  and  well  nigh  sub- 
dued a  continent.  But  the  great  task  of  England,  of  her  prince, 
her  statesmen,  and  her  people,  was  not  yet  completed.  Another 
contest,  the  brightest,  bloodiest,  fiercest,  and  most  important,  yet 
remained  to  be  fought,  before  the  security,  prosperity  and  glory 
of  Great  Britain  would  be  placed  upon  a  secure  and  permanent 
basis,  exempt  from  all  peril  or  mutability,  and  the  details  of 
these  events  still  appropriately  belong  to  the  history  of  the  era 
of  George  III. 


^3» 


CHAPTEE   XI. 


Napoleon's  Escape  from  Elba— Ilis  Arrival  at  Paris— Combination  of  the  Great  Powers 
of  Europe  against  him — His  Prodigious  Efforts  to  Confront  them — Immense  Ee- 
sources  of  the  Allies— Conflict  at  Charleroi— At  Ligny — At  Quatre  Bras— Prepara- 
tion for  a  Decisive  Battle— The  Field  of  Waterloo— Incidents  of  this  Memorable 
Battle— Heroism  of  the  Combatants— Defeat  of  Napoleon— Gratitude  of  the  British 
Nation  to  the  British  Generals  and  Soldiers— Pacification  of  the  Continent— State 
of  the  Finances — Commotions  In  Ireland — Domestic  Legislation — The  Eegency — 
Death  of  George  III.— State  of  the  British  Empire  at  this  Period. 


On  the  26th  of  February,  1815,  Bonaj)artc  sailed  from  Elba,  in 
command  of  nine  hundred  men,  with  the  determination  of  recov- 
ering the  throne  of  Erance,  and  if  necessary  of  again  convulsing 
the  continent  of  Europe  by  the  storms  of  war.  He  landed  at 
Cannes  on  the  1st  of  ^farch ;  he  disembarked  and  immediately 
commenced  his  approach  to  the  French  capital.  The  successive 
triumphs  of  this  strange  and  adventurous  journey,  whose  thrill- 
ing incidents  were  worthy  of  the  unparalleled  career  of  the  great 
conqueror,  began  at  Grenoble,  whose  garrison  threw  down  their 
arms  and  shouted  "  Vive  VEmjyereur^^  the  moment  he  appeared  to 
their  view.  Here  his  troops  swelled  to  the  number  of  three 
thousand ;  and  he  took  the  line  of  march  thence  to  the  more  im- 
portant city  of  Lyons.  Tlie  Bourbon  princes  and  Marshal  Mac- 
donald  attempted  here  to  stem  the  swelling  tide  of  the  invader's 
popularity,  but  in  vain.  The  same  magic  spell  which  every- 
where gained  the  conqueror  of  Austerlitz  and  Jena  the  hearts  of 
the  French  soldiery,  effected  the  same  result  here,  and  Napoleon 
entered  Lyons  in  triumph.  At  Besangon  he  first  met  his  old 
comrade  Ney,  who  had  rashly  promised  Louis  XVIIL  to  bring 
Napoleon  to  him  captive  in  an  iron  cage ;  and  after  a  short  in- 


280  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOTJE   GEOEGES. 

terview,  so  powerful  was  the  spell  which  the  Corsican  threw 
over  the  impulsive  marshal,  that  he  re-entered  his  service,  and 
assisted  in  swelling  Napoleon's  triumphant  cortege  as  it  neared 
the  capital.  On  the  20th  of  March  the  ex-emperor  entered 
Paris,  from  which  the  Bourbon  and  Orleans  princes  had  pre- 
viously taken  their  flight. 

On  regaining  possession  of  the  throne,  Bonaparte  immediate- 
ly despatched  letters  to  all  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  informing 
them  that  he  had  been  restored  to  supreme  power  by  the  unani- 
mous will  of  the  French  nation  ;  and  that  he  was  willing  to  main- 
tain the  existing  peace  on  the  same  terms  as  those  which  had 
been  settled  with  the  Bourbons.  These  letters  were  referred  by 
their  several  recipients  to  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  which  still 
continued  its  deliberations  in  the  Austrian  capital.  But  that  as- 
semblage decreed  that  no  answer  should  be  returned  to  the  letter ; 
and  they  further  issued  a  manifesto  declaring  that  Napoleon,  by 
his  desertion  of  Elba  and  his  invasion  of  the  French  territory, 
had  placed  himself  beyond  the  pale  of  all  civil  and  social  rela- 
tions ;  that  he  had  forfeited  the  only  title  to  life  which  he  yet  re- 
tained ;  that  he  was  a  disturber  of  the  tranquillity  of  Europe ; 
and  that  he  had  become  obnoxious  to  public  vengeance.  The 
great  powers  of  Europe,  England,  Austria,  Prussia,  and  Russia, 
entered  into  a  treaty  on  the  25th  of  March,  by  which  they  bound 
themselves  to  unite  their  entire  military  resources,  and  not  to 
lay  down  their  arms  or  to  conclude  peace,  until  Napoleon,  the 
common  enemy  of  mankind,  had  been  finally  and  completely 
crushed. 

Unterrified  by  this  formidable  proclamation,  the  French  em- 
peror instantly  commenced  to  made  preparations  to  confront 
a  continent  which  was  rising  in  arms  against  him.  He  displayed 
prodigious  energy  and  inexhaustible  activity  in  every  depart- 
ment of  administrative  duty.  New  levies  were  ordered  through- 
out France,  already  exhausted  by  the  loss  of  her  best  and  most 
vigorous  blood.  Ammunition,  arms,'  and  artillery  were  fabri- 
cated by  every  possible  means,  and  with  the  most  urgent  haste. 
As  many  of  Napoleon's  former  marshals  as  he  could  influence, 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   THIRD.  281 

he  regained  from  their  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Bourbons  ;  but  of 
these  eminent  soldiers,  Macdonald,  Augereau,  Oudinot,  Victor, 
Marmont,  and  St.  Cyr  refused  to  violate  their  oaths  and  rejoin 
his  standards.  On  the  1st  of  June  he  proclaimed  a  new  con- 
stitution on  the  Champ  de  Mai,  by  which  visionary  and  delu- 
sive fabric  he  hoped  to  gain  th^  doubtful  hearts  of  the  French 
people.  A  showy  and  gorgeous  pageant  was  exhibited  on  that 
occasion,  such  as  Avas  well  calculated  to  attract  and  fascinate  the 
nation ;  but  the  ultimate  decision  in  this  great  conflict  was  de- 
pendent, not  on  imposing  and  glittering  shows,  but  on  the  stern 
and  bloody  fortunes  of  war. 

The  armies  of  the  allies  were  hastening  toward  the  frontiers 
of  France.  A  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Austrian  troops,  com- 
manded by  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  were  marching  toward  the 
Rhine ;  two  hundred  thousand  Russians  were  gathering  on  the 
confines  of  Alsace  ;  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Prussians,  under 
the  orders  of  Bliicher,  and  burning  with  unquenchable  fury  to 
avenge  the  horrors  and  outrages  of  Jena,  occupied  Flanders; 
while  eighty  thousand  British  troops,  led  on  by  Wellington,  were 
assembled  in  Belgium.  The  smaller  contingents  of  the  secondary 
German  principalities,  were  preparing  to  take  the  field  ;  and  the 
whole  of  these  combined  together,  would  swell  the  number  of 
men  in  arms  against  Napoleon  during  the  Hundred  Days  to 
nearly  a  million.  Against  this  vast  armament,  the  French  em- 
peror, by  the  exercise  of  exertions  which  no  mortal  had  ever 
before  or  since  exhibited,  in  any  great  crisis  of  human  destiny, 
could  muster  only  four  hundred  thousand  men,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  these  were  raw  recruits  and  youths  who  had  practised 
no  military  training,  nor  had  ever  witnessed  the  horrors  of  a 
battle-field. 

Napoleon  commenced  operations  on  the  15th  of  June,  by  at- 
tacking the  Prussians  posted  at  Charleroi.  In  this  movement  he 
was  successful,  and  compelled  the  latter  to  retire  to  Ligny.  At 
this  place  the  combatants  again  encountered  each  other  on  the 
16th.  A  furious  conflict  ensued,  for  Blucher  himself  now  com- 
manded the  Prussians.     Here,  for  the  last  time,  the  star  of  Na- 


282  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

poleon's  glory  was  triumphant,  and  that  great  warrior  who 
had  been  the  victor  on  so  many  fields  of  blood,  who  seemed 
to  have  chained  the  goddess  Fortune  to  his  car  during 
so  many  adventurous  and  memorable  years,  gained  the  last 
laurels  which  were  destined  to  decorate  his  imperial  brow. 
Though  Bliicher  fought  with  the  ferocity  of  a  lion,  and  repeatedly 
led  on  his  broken  ranks  to  the  charge,  he  was  eventually  van- 
quished, and  compelled  to  retreat.  But  he  left  the  field,  though 
not  the  victor,  yet  vmconquered  ;  and  reserved  his  chief  energies 
for  the  great  battle  of  the  age  which  was  soon  to  ensue. 

While  Napoleon  was  thus  earning  his  last  laurels  at  Ligny, 
Ney  was  combatting  the  English  army  at  Quatre-Bras.  Here 
the  "  Bravest  of  the  Brave  "  strove  in  vain  to  make  any  impres- 
sion upon  the  adamantine  ranks  of  that  stern  race,  whose  military 
prowess  he  and  his  haughty  master  had  never  yet  fully  tested, 
but  with  which  they  were  destined  soon  to  become  familiar.  The 
French  were  repulsed  in  all  their  attacks,  and  the  British  re- 
mamed  masters  of  all  their  positions.  The  shades  of  darkness 
alone  put  an  end  to  the  bloody  conflict,  and  five  thousand  dead 
and  wounded  on  each  side  attested  the  degree  of  fury  which  had 
characterized  it.  Yet  these  engagements  were  all  merely  pre- 
paratory to  that  more  decisive  combat  which  was  about  to 
occur,  in  which  was  involved  the  future  destiny  not  only 
of  the  British  empire,  but  also  of  every  country  and  throne  in 
Europe. 

During  the  17th  of  June,  the  French  and  allied  armies  ap- 
proached from  diff"erent  directions  the  immortal  field  of  Water- 
loo. The  rain  fell  in  torrents ;  and  few  even  of  the  bravest 
slept  during  the  solemn  hours  of  the  night  which  succeeded. 
The  awful  grandeur  and  importance  of  the  approaching  conflict, 
impressed  even  the  most  thoughtless.  Never  before  since  the 
beginning  of  time,  had  men  contended  for  stakes  of  such  prodi- 
gious magnitude.  Upon  the  uncertain  issue  of  the  coming  battle 
depended  the  fate  of  that  mighty  hero,  whose  achievements  far 
transcended  the  achievements  of  all  other  men.  A  battle  was 
about  to  be  fought  more  decisive  than  that  of  Marathon,  Cannse, 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  TUIED.  283 

or  Blenheim.  The  destiny  of  a  greater  hero  than  either  Mil- 
tiades,  Hannibal,  or  Marlborough  then  hung  trembling  in  the 
uncertain  balance.  And  now  for  the  first  time  the  two  ablest 
generals  of  that  age  were  about  to  measure  their  swords  to- 
gether ;  and  the  future  fate  of  each  entirely  depended  upon  the 
issue.  If  the  British  were  defeated,  retreat  even  from  the  battle 
field  would  be  impossible ;  for  the  dense  forest  of  Soignies  in 
their  rear  would  cut  off  every  means  of  escape.  If  Napoleon 
were  vanquished,  his  fortunes  would  be  ruined  forever,  and  he 
would  thenceforth  become  a  fugitive  and  vagabond  on  the  earth ; 
and  those  who  were  about  to  engage  in  this  struggle,  were  fully 
conscious  of  the  supreme  importance  of  the  occasion. 

At  length  the  tedious  hours  of  night  wore  away.  The  busy 
sounds  of  hurried  preparation,  the  confused  and  multitudinous 
hum  which  betokened  the  near  presence  of  mighty  armaments, 
and  which  had  echoed  from  both  camps  during  the  night,  gradu- 
ally subsided.  The  morning  of  the  18th  of  June,  1815,  arose 
upon  the  world  ;  and  with  its  cheerful  light  there  came  that  hour, 
pregnant  with  the  fate  of  so  many  millions  of  human  beings  ; 
that  hour  to  which  the  events  of  preceding  centuries  had  long 
converged  ;  that  hour  to  which  many  ages  yet  to  come  will  point 
as  the  great  decisive  epoch  which  gave  tone  and  color  to  the  his- 
tory of  succeeding  generations.  The  last  grand  act  in  the  stupen- 
dous drama  of  Napoleon's  career  was  now  about  to  commence, 
ere  the  curtain  fell  upon  it  in  darkness  and  gloom  forever. 

When  the  day  da^vned,  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand 
men  sprang  from  their  dripping  beds,  and  arrayed  themselves 
for  the  last  time  for  the  shock  and  the  carnage  of  battle.  Soon 
the  various  regiments  of  both  armies  began  to  deploy  into  their 
assigned  positions.  The  battle-field  extended  two  miles  in  length 
from  the  chateau  of  Hugomont  on  the  extreme  right,  to  that  of 
La  Haye  Sainte  on  the  left.  Through  the  centre  of  this  line  the 
great  high  road  or  cliaussie  from  Brussels  to  Charleroi  passed, 
nearly  a  mile  from  the  village  of  Waterloo.  Both  armies  were 
arrayed  on  the  crest  of  gentle  eminences  somewhat  semi-circular 
in  form,  and  opposite  to  each  other,  between  which  a  natural 


284  HISTORY   OF  TKE   FOUK   GEOKGES. 

slope  or  glacis  intervened.  The  two  armies  presented  a  magnifi- 
cent appearance.  The  French  numbered  eighty  thousand,  the 
English  and  Belgians  seventy-two  thousand.  Like  huge  serpents 
the  long,  dark  masses  wound  around  the  eminences  to  the  thrill- 
ing sound  of  martial  music,  and  gradually  formed  into  line. 
Napoleon  had  two  hundred  and  fifty  cannon ;  the  English  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty-six.  The  French  troops  were  formed  in  three 
lines,  each  flanked  by  dense  masses  of  cavalry.  Their  brilliant 
uniforms  and  dazzling  arms  presented  a  gorgeous  and  imposing 
spectacle.  The  English  troops  were  drawn  up  for  the  most  part 
in  solid  squares,  supported  by  cavalry  in  the  rear.  In  front  of 
their  whole  position  their  artillery  was  skilfully  arrayed,  di- 
rectly facing  the  formidable  number  of  guns  displayed  by  the 
French.  Appearances  were  certainly  in  favor  of  Napoleon  be- 
fore the  battle  began,  both  as  to  the  number,  the  equipment, 
and  the  arrangement  of  his  troops.  On  that  great  day,  each  of 
the  opposing  commanders  had  exerted  his  utmost  skill,  and  had 
exhausted  the  whole  military  art,  in  the  disposition  of  their  re- 
spective armies,  so  as  to  increase  their  efiectiveness  to  the  fullest 
degree. 

Just  as  the  village  clock  at  Nivelles  struck  eleven,  Napoleon 
gave  the  order  to  commence  the  combat  from  the  centre  of  his 
lines.  The  column  of  Jerome,  six  thousand  strong,  first  attacked 
the  English  posted  in  the  chateau  of  Hugomont.  A  vigorous 
contest  here  took  place  which  resulted  in  the  dislodgement  of  the 
English  troops,  and  the  conflagration  of  the  edifice.  This  conflict, 
however,  was  only  intended  by  Napoleon  to  conceal  the  main 
point  of  attack,  which  was  in  the  right  centre.  The  cannonade 
had  now  become  general  along  the  whole  line.  Ney  was  ordered 
to  attack  the  British  stationed  along  the  hedge,  and  in  the  chateau 
of  La  Haye  Sainte.  This  was  the  strongest  position  held  by 
Wellington.  As  soon  as  the  latter  perceived  the  large  masses 
of  troops  which  were  marching  against  this  portion  of  his  line, 
he  drew  up  the  splendid  and  powerful  regiment  of  the  Scotch 
Greys,  the  Enniskillens,  and  the  Queen's  Bays  in  its  support. 
The  French  columns  steadily  pressed  up  the  slope  till  within 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   THIRD.  285 

twenty  yards  of  the  British  guns.  Here  a  furious  conflict  en- 
sued. The  heroic  Picton  fell  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  as  he 
waved  forward  his  troops  with  his  sword.  The  Scotch  Greys 
attacked  their  foes  with  prodigious  energy  and  effect.  The 
French  columns  then  hesitated.  The  Scotch,  shouting  "  Scotland 
forever,"  rushed  on  to  the  attack.  They  carried  a  battery  of 
twenty  guns ;  charged  the  second  line,  routed  it,  and  assailed 
the  third.  The  last  line  of  the  French  even  began  to  yield, 
when  Napoleon,  perceiving  the  greatness  of  the  disaster,  ordered 
Milhaud's  cuirassiers  to  charge  the  advancing  foe.  In  this  col- 
lision the  brave  Ponsonby  died  a  heroic  death  ;  and  so  desperate 
was  the  conflict  that  the  returning  Scotch  brought  back  Avith 
them  scarcely  a  fifth  part  of  their  original  number.  As  Napolepn 
gazed  from  the  eminence  on  which  he  stood  while  he  surveyed 
the  battle,  at  the  splendid  and  effective  charge  of  the  brave  Scotch 
cavalry  he  exclaimed  :  Ces  terribles  chevaux  gris  ;  comme  Us  tra- 
vaillent!  But  before  the  Scotch  had  completed  their  charge 
they  had  broken  and  dispersed  a  column  of  five  thousand  men  ; 
had  taken  two  thousand  prisoners ;  and  had  either  captured  or 
spiked  eighty  pieces  of  camion,  which  comprised  the  whole  of 
Ney's  artillery. 

Undismayed  by  this  disaster,  Napoleon  ordered  twenty  thou- 
sand cuirassiers  under  the  command  of  Milhaud,  to  advance  to 
the  support  of  Ncy  in  the  centre.  Soon  La  Haye  Sainte  was 
taken.  An  entire  battalion  of  Hanoverian  troops  was  almost  de- 
stroyed by  the  French,  but  their  tide  of  conquest  was  terminated 
by  Wellington  ordering  up  the  Life  Guards,  the  Royal  Horse 
, Guards,  and  the  1st  Dragoon  Guards  to  the  defence.  The  ad- 
vance of  the  French  was  then  stopped  ;  but  Napoleon  being  de- 
termined to  carry  the  important  post  of  La  Haye  Sainte,  brought 
up  his  whole  body  of  light  cavalry  to  the  attack.  Wellington 
still  resisted  these  furious  and  repeated  onslaughts  on  his  lines, 
by  ordering  up  to  their  support  his  whole  reserve,  and  the  Bel- 
gian regiments  which  were  stationed  in  the  rear. 

Thus  for  three  hours  the  uncertain  conflict  raged  throughout 
the  whole  length  of  the  tumultuous  lines,  with  the  most  desperate 


286  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOTJK   GEORGES. 

fury.  Prodigious  acts  of  heroism  were  performed  by  many 
\yhose  names  have  long  since  descended  with  them  to  their  gory 
and  forgotten  graves,  on  that  ensanguined  field.  The  dead  and 
dying  lay  piled  in  immense  heaps,  and  the  whole  of  the  contend- 
ing armies  were  involved  in  the  dense  smoke  and  the  thundering 
uproar  of  battle.  Neither  host  appeared  willing  to  yield.  Both 
seemed  determined  to  conquer  or  to  perish.  As  evening  ap- 
proached. Napoleon  saw  the  necessity  of  combining  his  energies, 
and  by  one  prodigious  effort  to  carry  the  day.  All  along  the 
line,  two  miles  in  length,  the  awful  conflict  raged ;  but  it  was 
now  destined  to  become  more  furious,  more  deadly,  more 
destructive  still.  Suddenly  at  half-past  four  o'clock,  a  dark 
mass  appeared  in  the  distance,  moving  in  the  direction  of  Frisch- 
ermont.  It  was  a  Prussian  corps,  sixteen  thousand  strong,  who 
were  hastening  toward  the  scene  of  conflict.  Napoleon  imme- 
diately detached  Lobun  with  seven  thousand  men  to  arrest  their 
progress  ;  while  he  himself  determined,  at  that  critical  moment, 
to  put  into  execution  his  last  and  greatest  resource,  the  one  which 
had  rarely  failed  to  win  the  victory  to  his  standards,  and  to 
crush  the  most  powerful,  enthusiastic,  and  formidable  foes. 
This  was  to  bring  forward  the  grand  attack  of  the  Old  Imperial 
Guard.  It  was  this  veteran  corps  which  had  decided  the  fate 
of  Europe  on  many  great  battle-fields.  It  was  this  corps  which 
had  made  the  best  troops  of  Russia  and  Austria  quail  and  flee  at 
Friedland  and  Wagram  ;  which  had  broken  the  power  of  the  Prus- 
sian columns  at  Jena  and  Lutzen  ;  which  had  overwhelmed  the 
Russian  lines  at  Borodino  and  Austerlitz.  Napoleon  himself 
now  rode  through  the  ranks  of  these  grim  and  dauntless  warriors, 
and  harangued  them  with  a  few  words  of  burning  eloquence.  He 
briefly  told  them  that  the  fate  of  the  day,  his  own  fate,  and  the 
fate  of  France  and  Europe,  now  depended  upon  themselves. 
Loud  shouts  of  Vive  VEmpereur  in  reply  echoed  far  and  wide 
over  the  plain,  and  drowned  for  a  moment,  even  the  mighty 
thunder  of  the  cannon.  Napoleon  accompanied  his  veteran 
heroes  a  considerable  way  down  the  slope  on  their  advance ;  and 
as  each  column  defiled  before  him,  he  addressed  them  words  of 


i 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIRD.  287 

stirring  eulogy  and  hope,  which  revived  or  increased  their  cour- 
age. They  advanced  to  the  final  attack  of*  the  British  centre  in 
two  great  masses,  one  of  which  was  led  by  Marshal  Ney,  the 
other  by  General  Reille. 

Never  before,  in  the  memorable  annals  of  warfare,  had  there 
been  such  a  shock  as  that  which  took  place  when  the  Old  Guard, 
having  approached  with  solemn  and  steady  tread  within  forty 
feet  of  the  English  lines,  commenced  with  their  ancient  heroism 
and  resolution  the  task  of  vanquishing  their  desperate  and  power- 
ful foes.  The  very  earth  shook  beneath  their  terrific  onset. 
They  were  met  by  the  English  Foot  Guards,  and  the  73d  and 
30th  regiments,  with  a  heroism  equal  to  their  own.  The  eyes 
of  all  the  combatants  were  turned  toward  the  spot  where  that 
deadly  conflict  was  taking  place.  Quickly  and  with  desperate 
energy  all  the  most  destructive  evolutions  of  warfare  were  ex- 
ecuted. Immortal  deeds  were  then  achieved,  which  fmd  no  su- 
perior in  all  the  blood-stained  amaals  of  military  glory  and  am- 
bition. But  Wellington  had  made  admirable  dispositions  to 
meet  this  last  grand  attack  of  the  Old  Guard,  which  had  also 
been  anticipated.  He  had  stationed  his  artillery  so  as  completely 
to  sweep  their  lines ;  and  as  they  approached  near  to  his  position, 
his  batteries  were  unmasked,  and  they  poured  into  the  advancing 
host  a  prodigious  storm  of  iron  hail.  The  first  lines  of  the  Im- 
perial Guards  melted  like  frostwork  as  they  came  within  range 
of  the  terrible  guns ;  and  though  those  in  the  rear  resolutely 
pressed  on  to  the  attack,  they  made  no  further  advance.  They 
still  crumbled  away.  A  dead  mass  of  soldiers  rose  higher  and 
higher  above  the  earth ;  but  the  head  of  the  living  column  was 
unable  to  approach  nearer  than  before,  to  the  object  of  their 
attack. 

At  length  the  Imperial  Guard  recoiled.  Napoleon,  who  had 
intently  watched  their  progress,  turned  deadly  pale,  when  he 
witnessed  their  useless  heroism  and  their  slow  and  ignominious 
retreat.  Soon  the  horrid  cry  was  repeated  along  the  French 
lines :  "  Tout  est  perdue,  la  Ouarde  recuile  !  "  and  the  enormous 


288  msTOET  OF  the  foue  geoeges. 

mass,  broken  and  in  confusion,  fled  in  headlong  retreat  down  the 
hill. 

At  this  instant  the  rest  of  the  Prussian  army  under  Blucher 
and  Ziethen  came  within  range  of  the  field,  and  opened  a  battery 
of  a  hundred  guns  upon  the  tumultuous  masses  of  the  French. 
It  was  now  nearly  eight  o'clock.     Soon  the  Prussians,  thirty-six 
thousand  in  number,  reached  the  French  lines,  and  commenced 
a  furious  attack  upon  the  exhausted  and  disordered  multitude. 
At  that  moment  the  star  of  Napoleon's  glory,  after  having  for 
twenty   years  shone   in   unequalled   splendor  near  the   zenith, 
trembled,  flickered,  and  then  descended  in  ominous  gloom,  never 
to  rise  again.     In  vain  the  desperate  and  ruined   adventurer 
strove  to  rally  his  discomfited  warriors.     In  vain  he  swept  on 
his  noble  charger  over  the  plain,  recalling  his  faltering  troops  to 
return  once  more  to  the  attack.     Terror  now  pervaded  every 
breast.     The  retreat  became  general ;  and  though  Napoleon  ex- 
posed himself  in  the  most  dangerous  positions,  and  seemed  even 
to  seek  for  death,  in  restoring   courage  and   order,  all  was  in 
vain  ;  and  the  ruin  of  his  army,  his  fortunes,  and  his  hopes  was 
complete  and  irremediable.     At  last  exclaiming  :  "  All  is  lost ! 
let  us  save  ourselves!"  he  turned  his  horse  and  fled  from . the 
field  of  battle.     The  Prussians  pursued  the  helpless  fugitives 
with  a  rancor  which  only  the  memory  of  the  horrors  of  the  battle 
of  Jena,  and  the  unequalled  outrages  then  committed  by  Na- 
poleon on  Prussia,  could  have  excited.     Multitudes  of  the  re- 
treating French  were  slain.     The  whole  of  Napoleon's  artillery 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  pursuers.     For  miles  the  earth  was 
completely  covered  with  an  innumerable  number  of  broken  car- 
riages, wagons,  baggage,  arms  and  Avrecks  of  every  kind.     Forty 
thousand   men   only   escaped  of  that  vast  and  splendid  arma- 
ment  of  eighty   thousand,  who   on  the  morning  of  that  very 
day,  full  of  martial  pomp  and  pride,  had  marched  under  the 
French  eagles.     Nearly  forty  thousand  men   had   either  been 
slain,  wounded,  or  taken  prisoners.     The  loss  of  the  Allies  was 
sixteen  thousand  killed  and  wounded.     The  loss  of  the  Prussians 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   TRIED.  289 

in  the  battles  of  the  16th  and  18th  of  June  amounted  to  thirty- 
three  thousand.* 

The  fallen  hero  reached  Paris  during  the  night  of  the  20th, 
and  the  two  Chambers  were  immediately  summoned.  The  de- 
liberations which  ensued  resulted  in  the  abdication  of  Napoleon, 
his  departure  for  Rochefort,  his  reception  on  board  the  Beller- 
ophon,  his  transfer  to  the  distant  island  of  St.  Helena,  the  re- 
instatement of  Louis  XVIII.  upon  the  throne  of  his  ancestors, 
and  the  general  establishment  of  peace  throughout  a  continent  so 
long  convulsed  and  distracted  by  the  imiumerable  horrors  of 
war. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  British  Parliament,  after  the  con- 
clusion of  hostilities  in  1815,  was  to  pass  votes  of  thanks  to  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  and  Marshal  Blucher;  while  more  substan- 
tial, and  therefore  more  valuable,  evidences  of  public  regard  and 
gratitude  than  votes  of  thanks  were  bestowed  upon  the  great 
English  commander  and  his  troops.  All  the  regiments  of  cav- 
alry and  infantry  which  had  been  engaged  in  the  battle,  were 
permitted  to  inscribe  the  word  Waterloo  upon  their  col- 
ors ;  and  the  soldiers  were  allowed  to  count  two  years  for  that 
victory  in  reckoning  their  future  claims  for  an  increase  of  their 
pay,  or  for  a  pension  when  discharged.  Half  a  million  pounds 
were  raised  for  the  relief  of  the  wounded,  and  for  the  relatives  of 
those  who  had  fallen  on  that  bloody  field.  A  grant  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds  was  voted  by  Parliament  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  in  addition  to  the  considerable  emoluments  which 
he  had  received  for  his  previous  services,  as  an  evidence  of  the 
appreciation  and  gratitude  of  the  nation  and  their  represent- 
atives. 

Meanwhile  the  plenipotentiaries  of  Great  Britain  were  active- 
ly engaged  in  the  conventions  of  Vienna  and  Chaumont,  which 
were  delegated  by  the  powers  of  Europe  to  settle  the  affairs  of 
Prance,  and  her  relations  to  surrounding  countries.    The  French 

*  See  Memorable  Scenes  in  French  History,  from  the  Era  of  Cardinal  Riche- 
lieu until  the  Present  Time;  Embracing  the  Prominent  Events  of  the  Last 
Three  Centuries.    New  York :  Miller,  Orton  &  Co.,  1858,  p.  S20. 

13 


290  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

territory  was  reduced  to  the  same  limits  as  those  which  existed 
previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  first  revolution ;  and  an 
indemnity  of  seven-  hundred  millions  of  francs  was  demanded, 
and  conceded  by  the  government  of  Louis  XVIII.,  to  reimburse 
the  Allies  for  the  expenses  incurred  during  the  war ;  nor  can  this 
vast  sum  be  deemed  exorbitant  when  the  events  of  the  past  were 
impartially  considered.  During  the  year  1815,  the  territorial 
importance  of  Great  Britain  was  farther  increased  by  the  ad- 
dition of  the  island  of  Ceylon  to  her  dominions.  This  result  was 
produced  by  a  native  revolution.  The  subjects  of  the  King  of 
Candy,  who  governed  the  interior,  rose  in  rebellion  against  his 
insufferable  tyranny,  overthrew  the  despot,  and  finally  took  him 
prisoner.  The  native  Chiefs  then  conferred  together,  and  re- 
solved to  offer  the  supremacy  of  the  island  to  the  British  mon- 
arch. A  treaty  was  adopted  between  the  Chiefs  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  English  government  then  present  at  Ceylon,  by 
which  it  was  agreed  that  the  Candian  Empire  should  be  vested 
in  the  British  sovereign,  reserving  to  the  native  Chiefs  and  to 
their  subjects  their  rights  and  immunities.  The  family  of  the 
deposed  king  was  forever  excluded  from  the  throne  ;  many  cruel 
laws  were  at  once  abrogated,  and  beneficial  regulations  intro- 
duced ;  while  the  administration  of  justice  and  the  religion  of 
Buddha  were  allowed  to  remam  unaltered  and  inviolable.  This 
new  accession  of  territory  may  justly  be  regarded  as  having  been 
a  desirable  event,  both  for  the  inhabitants  of  Ceylon  themselves, 
and  for  that  colossal  empire  to  whose  enlightened  laws  and  in- 
fluence they  thenceforth  became  subject. 

When  the  British  Parliament  assembled  in  February,  1816, 
the  prosperous  state  of  the  affairs  of  the  nation  excited  general  con- 
gratulation. The  various  documents  having  reference  to  the  sev- 
eral treaties  which  had  been  recently  adopted,  by  which  the 
peace  of  Europe  had  been  consolidated,  were  laid  before  Parlia- 
ment, and  approved.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  gave  a 
full  exposition  of  the  financial  state  of  the  Empire ;  and  his  re- 
port set  forth  that  provision  should  be  made  for  the  outstanding 
bills  of  the  years  1814  and  1815,  which  he  estimated  at  thirty 


LIFE  AKD  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  THIRD.  291 

live  million  jDOunds.  He  also  stated  that  the  nation  was  then 
laboring  under  great  financial  embarrassments,  which  chiefly 
arose  from  the  depreciation  of  agricultural  produce,  and  the  im- 
mense burdens  imposed  by  the  recent  wars.  He  proposed,  as 
a  remedy,  to  renew  the  property  tax,  but  at  a  diminished  rate 
of  one-half  its  preceding  propoi'tion,  at  five,  instead  of  ten,  per 
cent.  Tlae  ordinary  annual  revenues  were  estimated  at  twenty- 
seven  million  pounds,  the  five  per  cent,  property  tax  at  six  mil- 
lions ;  and  an  advance  from  the  Bank  of  England  of  six  millions 
at  four  per  cent,  was  recommended  by  the  Chancellor  as  a  neces- 
sary addition.  But  the  renewal  of  the  property  tax  was  resisted 
by  the  vociferous  opposition  of  the  community,  and  it  was  there- 
fore eventually  abandoned.  Parliament  was  prorogued  on  the 
2d  of  July,  after  having  effected  various  measures  which  tended 
to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  nation.  Yet  these  efforts  were 
not  entirely  successful ;  for  the  first  year  of  peace  proved  to  be 
almost  as  disastrous  to  the  domestic  trade  and  interests  of  the 
people  as  the  preceding  years  of  war  had  l)een.  This  circumstance 
arose  from  the  flxct  that,  by  the  establishment  of  peace,  all  those 
sources  of  industrial  profit  which  had  been  opened  by  the  exigen- 
cies of  nations  at  war,  were  at  once  dried  up ;  and  men  no  longer 
possessed  the  means  of  indulging  in  those  commodities  and  lux- 
uries from  the  production  of  which  vast  numbers  derived  their 
subsistence. 

These  evils  were  greatly  increased  by  an  inclement  season 
which  ensued,  and  which  destroyed  in  a  great  measure  the  agri- 
cultural resources  of  the  kingdom.  Serious  riots  ensued  in  the 
counties  of  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  and  Huntingdon.  The  colliers  of 
Staffordshire,  and  the  iron  founders  of  South  Wales,  suffered 
greatly  from  being  thrown  out  of  employment ;  for  men  had 
learned  to  turn  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks,  and  their  swords 
into  ploughshares,  and  no  longer  needed  the  accumulation  of 
iron  for  the  fabrication  of  the  murderous  weapons  of  war. 
Other  riots  occurred  in  the  metropolis,  which  at  first  threatened 
to  produce  dangerous  consequences  ;  but  these  and  all  other  in- 
dications were  eventually  put  down  by  military  force,  and  amel- 


292        msTOKY  OF  the  fouk  geoeges. 

iorated  by  the.  reactionary  power  of  increasing  industry  and 
thrift. 

During  the  parliamentary  session  of  1817,  several  important 
measures  were  passed  by  the  British  Legislature.  Bills  were 
passed  to  compensate  for  civil  services ;  to  abolish  the  office  of 
Wardens  ^nd  Justices  in  Eyre ;  to  issue  Exchequer  bills  to  the 
amount  of  half  a  million  pounds  to  complete  the  public  works 
then  in  progress ;  while  a  motion,  introduced  by  the  eloquent 
Irish  patriot,  Mr.  Grattan,  to  remove  the  disabilities  which  un- 
justly impeded  the  introduction  of  Roman  Catholics  into  Parlia- 
ment, was  rejected  by  a  small  majority.  Mr.  Wilberforce,  the 
great  opponent  of  the  foreign  slave  trade,  again  proposed  his  be- 
neficent reforms  in  reference  to  that  infamous  traffic ;  and  de- 
manded that  Portugal,  Spain,  and  Holland,  who  had  agreed  by 
solemn  treaties  to  abolish  it  entirely  within  their  dominions,  but 
who  had  failed  to  execute  their  obligations  in  the  premises,  might 
be  compelled  to  do  so.  The  motion  was  passed  in  Parliament ; 
without  however  any  specific  means  having  been  authorized,  by 
which  the  beneficent  end  contemplated  might  be  practically  re- 
alized. During  this  year  three  persons,  Brandreth,  Turner,  and 
Ludlaw,  who  had  taken  a  prominent  and  dangerous  part  in  the 
popular  tumults  which  occurred  in  different  portions  of  the 
kingdom,  were  tried  for  high  treason  at  Derby  by  a  special  com- 
mission, were  found  guilty,  and  were  executed.  Many  others 
who  were  implicated  with  them  in  a  less  degree,  received  more 
lenient  punishments  ;  and  some  who  had  been  led  astray  by  ig- 
norance rather  than  by  wickedness  into  revolt,  were  pardoned 
by  the  royal  clemency. 

In  1818  acts  were  passed  by  Parliament  appropriating  the 
sum  of  a  million  pounds  sterling  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  new 
places  of  worship  for  the  use  of  congregations  of  the  Established 
Church  ;  for  dividing  parishes  into  two  or  more  parochial  dis- 
tricts, each  of  which  was  to  be  provided  with  a  church  and  min- 
ister ;  to  authorize  the  building  of  chapels  of  ease,  the  clergymen 
of  which  were  to  be  nominated  by  the  rectors  of  the  parishes  in 
which  they  were  situated,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  diocesan. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE  THIRD.  293 

An  Alien  Act  was  passed,  to  continue  in  force  during  two  years, 
for  the  purpose  of  excluding  from  the  British  territory  those 
persons  who  might  use  their  vicinity  to  France  in  order  to  plot 
against  the  permanency  of  the  throne  of  Louis  XVIII.,  or  any 
other  of  the  allies  of  Great  Britain.  Changes  were  also  made  in 
the  powers  and  prerogatives  of  the  Regency,  by  which  the  queen 
was  empowered  to  appoint  additional  members  of  the  coun- 
cil to  whose  care  the  person  of  George  III.  had  been  intrusted. 
In  pursuance  of  this  act,  the  Earl  of  Macclesfield,  the  Bishop  of 
London,  the  Lord  St.  Helen,  and  Lord  Henley,  were  added  to 
the  existing  members  of  the  council.  ]\Ir.  Brougham  introduced 
his  famous  bill  respecting  the  education  of  the  poor  of  the  realm 
during  the  session  of  1818,  and  supported  its  passage  with  great 
eloquence  and  ability.  After  being  subjected  to  various  amend- 
ments in  the  jealous  House  of  Lords — a  body  of  men  which  has 
been,  during  many  generations,  only  a  dead  weight  and  a  per- 
nicious obstacle  to  the  advance  of  British  legislation,  resisting 
every  measure,  however  beneficent  and  enlightened,  which  might 
tend  in  any  way  to  increase  the  importance  and  to  enlarge  the 
influence  of  the  masses  of  the  people — the  bill,  after  being  mutil- 
ated, emasculated,  and  deformed  by  their  lordships,  eventually 
passed  both  houses. 

During  1819  the  care  of  the  person  of  the  invalid  king  was 
entrusted  to  the  Duke  of  York,  subject  to  the  assistance  of  a 
council.  This  measure  became  necessary  in  consequence  of  the 
death  of  his  consort,  Queen  Charlotte,  who  expired  on  the  17th 
of  November  preceding,  after  having  spent  many  years  in  mourn- 
ful yet  assiduous  attendance  upon  the  wants  of  her  unfortunate 
husband.  By  her  death  the  treatment  which  was  applied  to  the 
king  became  less  tender  and  considerate ;  and  had  he  still  re- 
tained a  glimmer  of  intellectual  light,  he  would  have  been  able  to 
perceive  that  in  Charlotte's  death  he  had  lost  his  most  faithful 
and  devoted  friend. 

In  1819  Sir  James  Macintosh  introduced  into  the  British 
Parliament  a  subject  which  had  long  demanded  their  corrective 
and  reformatory  agency.     This  subject  was  the  Criminal  Juris- 


294 


HISTOET   OP  THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 


prudence  of  tlic  realm,  which  was  based  upon  a  barbarous  and 
cruel  code,  which  has  been  the  disgrace  of  England  during  many 
ages.  As  the  law  then  existed,  the  penalty  of  death  was  affixed 
to  three  classes  or  genera  of  crimes.  The  first  included  murder, 
and  all  other  malicious  acts  which  were  directly  intended  to  de- 
stroy human  life.  The  second  comprehended  arson,  robbery, 
piracy,  and  crimes  of  similar  character  which  usually  tended  to 
the  loss  of  life,  as  a  concomitant  of  their  chief  purpose  in  the  un- 
lawful acquisition  of  property.  The  third  class  related  to  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  diiferent  offences  which  were  of  much  less  magni- 
tude, and  which  were  punished  in  all  other  civilized  countries, 
by  a  much  lighter  penalty.  Sir  James  proposed  that  in  refer- 
ence to  all  crimes  which  were  included  in  the  third  class,  the 
death  penalty  should  be  abolished  ;  and  after  a  long  and  arduous 
contest,  in  which  he  was  sustained  by  all  the  statesmen  distin- 
guished for  enlightened  views  in  the  realm,  he  succeeded  in  carry- 
ing his  proposition,  by  the  appointment  of  a  select  committee, 
through  whose  agency  the  proposed  reforms  were  eventually 
consummated. 

During  this  session  of  Parliament  Sir  Francis  Burdett  moved 
his  famous  bill  proposing  that  the  House  of  Commons  should 
take  into  consideration  the  subject  of  the  representation  of  the 
peoj^le  in  Parliament.  The  great  curse  of  British  legislation  was 
the  want  of  a  fair  and  equitable  representation ;  and  the  proposed 
measure,  if  properly  carried  out,  would  result  in  the  amelioration 
of  the  existing  evil.  A  very  spirited  debate  ensued;  but 
eventually,  by  the  artful  management  of  the  Tory  leaders,  tlie 
issue  was  evaded  through  a  vote  by  which  the  house  passed  to 
the  order  of  the  day.  This  result  did  not  crush  the  spirit  of  dis- 
affection which  was  gradually  increasing  throughout  a  portion  of 
the  kingdom  ;  and  public  meetings,  in  which  the  subject  of  par- 
liamentary reform  was  discussed  in  a  bold  and  seditious  manner, 
were  held  at  Birmingham,  Smithfield,  Manchester  and  Leeds. 
Riots  ensued,  which  were  eventually  suppressed  only  by  the  in- 
terference of  the  military,  and  by  the  cff'usion  of  blood.  The  public 
discontents  afterward  became  the  subject  of  discussion  in  Parlia- 


LITE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOEGE  THE  THIED.  295 

ment,  and  acts  were  passed  for  suppressing  seditious  libels,  for 
subjecting  cheap  popular  tracts  to  a  duty,  for  preventing  sedi- 
tious meetings  of  all  kinds,  for  the  seizure  of  arms  intended  for 
seditious  purposes,  and  to  prohibit  military  training.  By  the 
rigid  enforcement  of  these  provisions,  the  danger  which  seemed 
to  threaten  the  internal  peace  of  the  kingdom  was  successfully 
averted. 

At  the  period  of  the  death  of  George  III.,  the  vast  empire  of 
which  he  was  the  nominal  head  may  be  said  to  have  attained  a 
degree  of  harmony,  prosperity,  and  splendor,  which  it  never  be- 
fore possessed.  All  its  colonies  and  appendages,  including  those 
of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Indies,  were  loyal  and  united  ;  Ire- 
land for  the  time  being  was  tranquil  and  appeased ;  education, 
commerce,  and  manufactures  flourished  at  home ;  and  intimate 
alliances  firmly  bound  the  British  government  in  amity  with  the 
great  powers  of  the  continent.  In  May,  1819,  a  short  time  pre- 
vious to  the  death  of  the  king,  Mr.  Tiernay  moved  in  the  House 
of  Commons  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  take  into 
consideration  the  state  of  the  nation,  alleging  at  the  same  time 
that  the  conduct  of  ministers  had  been  unwise,  pernicious,  and 
censurable ;  and  dema-nding  their  immediate  removal  from 
office.  What  opinion  the  British  Parliament  entertained  in  ref- 
erence to  the  condition  of  the  British  people  at  that  moment,  may 
be  clearly  inferred  from  the  significant  flict,  that  the  motion  of 
Mr.  Tiernay  was  lost  by  an  overwhelming  vote  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  against  a  hundred  and  seventy-eight.* 

*  The  supplies  for  the  year  were  stated  at  £20,477,000.  Of  the  ways  and 
means,  the  annual  malt,  and  temporary  excise  duties  added  to  the  minor  sums 
arising  from  the  lottery  and  the  sale  of  old  naval  stores,  amounted  to  £7,074,000 ; 
a  loan  of  twelve  millions  by  competition,  and  another  of  the  same  amount  de- 
rived from  the  sinking  fund,  joined  to  the  above  sum,  produced  a  total  of 
£31,974,000,  leaving  a  surplus  of  £10,597,000  to  be  applied  to  the  reduction 
of  the  unfimded  debt,  of  which  five  millions  would  be  payable  to  the  Bank  of 
England,  and  the  remaining  §5,597,000  to  the  individual  holders  of  Exchequer 
bills.    MsseU's  History  of  the  lieign  of  George  III.,  Vol.  iii.,  p.  359. 


CHAPTEE    XII. 

Importance  of  the  Era  of  George  III.— Historic  Portraits  of  its  most  Distinguished  Per- 
sonages— William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham— His  Appearance— Character  of  his  Elo- 
quence— His  high  sense  of  Honor — His  Enlarged  and  Enlightened  Views — Lord 
North — His  Character  and  Talents — The  Difficulties  of  his  Position— Splendid  array 
of  Parliamentary  Orators  of  this  Era— Varied  Talents  of  Edmund  Burke— His 
Imagination — His  Erudition — His  Conservative  Opinions — Charles  James  Fox— His 
Contrast  in  every  Eespect  to  Burke — His  prodigious  Power  as  a  Parliamentary  De- 
bater— His  Efforts  as  an  Author— The  Younger  Pitt  the  sole  Eival  of  Fox  as  a 
Debater — Sheridan — His  Merits  and  Defects— William  Windham — Junius — Distin- 
guished Jurists— Horace  Walpole — Eminent  Historians,  Poets,  and  Prelates  of  the 
Beign  of  George  III. 

The  protracted  reign  of  George  III.  may  justly  be  regarded  as 
the  most  remarkable  which  has  occurred  in  English  history. 
This  distinction  did  not  result  from  any  peculiar  quality  or  supe- 
riority of  the  sovereign  ;  for,  like  every  other  monarch  of  his  race 
who  ever  swayed  a  sceptre,  he  was  in  every  respect  a  most 
ordinary  and  common-place  person.  But  the  importance  of  his 
era,  and  of  the  events  which  occurred  during  its  continuance, 
arose  from  the  splendid  abilities  of  the  statesmen  to  Avhom  he 
successively  confided  the  government ;  from  the  commanding 
talents  of  those  who  acted  in  opposition  to  his  administration ; 
from  the  matchless  skill  and  fortitude  of  many  of  his  generals ; 
and  from  the  peculiar  combination  of  causes  and  effects,  of  influ- 
ences and  counter-influences,  which  happened  to  combine  and  to 
culminate  during  the  progress  of  his  reign.  We  will  conclude 
our  survey  of  the  life  and  times  of  George  HI.,  by  presenting 
historic  portraits  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  personages 
who  then  lived  and  flourished. 

'    William  Pitt,  the  first  Earl  of  Chatham,  is  the  great  colossal 
figure  of  this  epoch.     His  importance  has  rendered  it  necessary 


LIFE   AND   REIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIRD.  297 

for  US  to  refer  to  him  so  frequently  in  the  previous  history,  that 
a  very  extended  notice  of  him  is  less  requisite  here.  His  grand- 
father had  been  Governor  of  Madras,  and  had  amassed  a  fortune 
in  India.  His  father  was  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  for 
Oakhampton.  Pitt's  elder  brother  inherited  the  family  estates  ; 
he  himself  was  the  possessor  of  a  matchless  genius,  far  more  val- 
uable than  any  estate.  His  education  was  completed  at  Oxford 
University  ;  and  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-four,  by  the  assistance 
of  the  family  influence,  he  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  Parliament  for 
Old  Sarum.  Then  began  his  splendid  Parliamentary  career 
which  continued  during  thirty  years,  and  which  no  Englishman 
has  ever  surpassed  or  even  emulated. 

At  the  period  of  Pitt's  entrance  into  Parliament,  and  for 
many  years  afterward,  the  art  of  reporting  speeches  was  in  a 
most  imperfect  state ;  and  consequently  many  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent displays  of  his  eloquence  were  lost  to  posterity.  For 
many  years  it  was  even  illegal  to  publish  pretended  reports  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Legislature  ;  but  notwithstanding  these 
disadvantages,  the  superiority  of  Pitt  as  an  orator  soon  com- 
manded the  admiration  of  the  nation.  His  person  was  tall  and 
stately.  His  features  were  prominent  and  expressive.  His  eye 
was  the  eye  of  an  eagle ;  and  its  mere  defiant  or  derisive  glances 
struck  many  a  hostile  orator  dumb  with  confusion  and  dismay. 
When  he  spoke  he  did  not  disdain  to  use  every  art  which  could 
give  effect  to  his  eloquence.  His  gestures,  his  attitudes,  his  at- 
tire, all  were  duly  arranged  and  disposed  so  as  to  render  them 
most  impressive  and  effective.  His  speeches  were  never  pre- 
pared beforehand,  and  delivered  from  memory.  On  a  single  occa- 
sion he  attempted  this  plan,  and  signally  failed.  He  uniformly 
spoke  from  the  impulse  of  the  moment ;  and  his  speeches,  if  not 
remarkable  for  length,  for  close  consecutive  reasoning,  for  long- 
drawn  and  elaborate  deductions  and  processes  of  illustration  and 
argument,  were  characterized  by  a  rapidity,  a  force,  a  concentra- 
tion of  oratorical  and  declamatory  power,  which,  without  stop- 
ping to  overturn  his  adversaries  in  detail,  blasted  the  whole  as- 
semblage of  them  by  a  few  overwhelming  and  resistless  blows. 
13* 


298  HISTOKY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEOEGES. 

He  resembled  a  Titan  who  obliterated  a  generation  of  pigmies 
not  by  many,  but  by  a  single  stroke  of  his  powerfid  arm. 

Lord  Chatham  possessed  great  firmness  and  fixedness  of  pur- 
pose. Nothing  could  move  him  after  he  had  once  taken  his  po- 
sition. He  was  disinterested,  and  scorned  money  and  all  the 
other  mercenary  considerations  which  govern  the  conduct  of  the 
majority  of  men.  His  immense  popularity  with  the  nation  arose 
from  his  supposed  integrity  and  incorruptibility  of  character ; 
which  seemed  to  be  more  astonishing  m  a  day  when  even  Robert 
Walpole  declared  that  every  man  had  his  price.  No  one  knew  the 
statesmen  of  England  better  than  Walpole ;  for  his  potent  bribes 
had  corrupted  all  of  them,  save  Pitt  alone.  He  too  had  his  price ; 
but  it  was  not  money  which  influenced  him.  His  was  a  nobler  pas- 
sion. He  loved  power  with  the  same  insatiable  greediness  with 
which  Marlborough,  the  most  avaricious  of  statesmen,  loved  money. 
After  power,  Pitt  loved  fame ;  and  he  desired  to  be  known  and 
esteemed  by  his  countrymen  as  a  celebrity.  But  he  was  also  a 
true  patriot.  An  injury  or  a  disgrace  inflicted  on  his  country, 
he  felt  deeply  as  a  grievous  misfortune  inflicted  upon  himself. 
Hence,  when  he  at  last  attained  supreme  power,  his  measures, 
which  were  wise  and  sagacious,  were  executed  with  such  pro- 
digious energy,  and  with  such  single  reference  to  the  honor, 
glory,  and  power  of  Great  Britain,  that  he  soon  rendered  her  the 
first  nation  on  the  globe.  His  views  were  much  in  advance  of 
those  of  his  age  and  generation.  This  was  clearly  illustrated  by 
the  policy  which  he  pursued  in  reference  to  the  American  Col- 
onies. The  stupid  king  was  obstinately  bent  on  preserving  the 
integrity  of  the  empire  at  all  hazards,  and  without  making  any 
sacrifice.  His  fawning  favorites  commended  and  applauded  his 
perverse  ignorance.  Pitt  alone  clearly  saw  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  retain  the  colonies  in  base  dependence  upon,  and  sub- 
jection to,  the  mother  country ;  that  there  were  growing  and 
resistless  energies  lodged  in  the  heart  of  those  colonies,  which 
must  be  expanded  and  developed  freely  without  constraint ;  and 
that  if  any  attempt  were  made  to  repress  them  or  confixie  them, 
an  explosion  would  inevitably  occur  which  would  shatter  the 


i 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE  THEED.  299 

empire  into  fragments.  Consequently  he  recommended  that  the 
cords  should  be  relaxed,  that  the  young  restive  giants  should  he 
governed  loosely,  that  they  should  be  permitted  to  expend  their 
pent-up  powers  freely,  and  that,  while  they  should  be  retained  in 
nominal  connection  with  the  mother  country,  the  home  govern- 
ment should  scarcely  seem  to  control  them  at  all ;  but  should 
hope  to  derive  their  greatest  revenue  and  profit  from  the  in- 
creased and  extended  commerce  which  would  rapidly  arise  be- 
tween the  two  countries.  Tliese  views  seemed  absurd  to  the 
short-sighted  contemporaries  of  Pitt ;  and  acting  on  an  opposite 
line  of  policy,  the  cords  broke  which  were  too  tightly  drawn, 
and  America  became  a  free,  a  hostile,  and  even  now,  a  rival  em- 
pire. One  of  his  declarations  on  this  subject  was  as  follows  :  "  I 
rejoice  that  America  has  resisted.  Three  millions  of  people,  so 
dead  to  all  the  feelings  of  liberty,  as  voluntarily  to  let  themselves 
be  made  slaves,  would  have  been  fit  instruments  to  make  slaves 
of  all  the  rest.  America,  if  she  fell,  would  fall  like  a  strong 
man ;  she  would  embrace  the  pillars  of  the  state,  and  pull  down 
the  constitution  along  with  her."  Pitt  was  great  in  the  ministry 
and  out  of  it ;  and  was  trusted  by  the  nation  more  heartily  than 
any  other  statesman  before  and  since.  His  acceptance  of  a  pen- 
sion for  his  family  and  of  a  peerage  for  himself  rendered  him  un- 
popular for  a  time,  as  his  enemies  intended  it  should ;  Init  he 
soon  recovered  his  place  in  the  inmost  heart  of  the  nation ;  and  at 
last  his  death  enshrined  him  there  with  a  security  and  permanence, 
which  no  lapse  of  time  or  vicissitude  of  events  can  ever  diminish. 
Lord  North  remained  for  some  years  the  favorite  minister  of 
George  III.,  and  the  regard  which  the  obstinate  yet  conscientious 
monarch  entertained  for  him  was  very  great.  His  disposition 
was  amiable,  agreeable,  and  conciliatory.  He  rendered  a  great 
service  to  the  king,  by  accepting  the  labors  and  perils  of  office  at 
a  time  of  considerable  danger,  when  the  Duke  of  Grafton  suddenly 
resigned  the  post  of  premier,  and  retired  to  the  ebmraces  of  his 
mistress  at  Newmarket,  and  left  the  king  almost  helpless.  North 
was  a  man  of  noble  birth  and  liberal  education,  and  spoke  the 
principal  modern  languages  of  Europe  fluently.    Madame  de 


300  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEOPwGES. 

Stael  asserted  that  he  possessed  V Esprit  Europeen  which  made 
him  perfectly  at  home  in  the  saloons  of  Paris,  Naples,  Vienna, 
and  London.  Before  his  promotion  to  the  premiership,  he  had 
held  several  important  offices  ;  he  had  been  one  of  the  Lords  of 
the  Treasury,  Paymaster  of  the  Forces,  and  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer.  He  retained  his  highest  trust  during  thirteen  years  ; 
and  that  period  was  rendered  memorable  by  the  progress  and 
conclusion  of  the  war  in  the  United  States.  No  minister  was 
ever  surrounded  by  greater  difficulties  than  Lord  North.  He 
was  compelled  to  support  the  war  by  the  express  command  and 
determination  of  the  king.  The  nation  at  home  was  soured  and 
incensed  by  the  ultimate  defeat  which  justly  met  the  line  of  pol- 
icy pursued  toward  the  resisting  and  restive  colonies.  A  power- 
ful opposition  in  Parliament  crippled  his  movements,  and  hin- 
dered him  in  the  attainment  of  his  most  cherished  purposes. 
The  eloquence  of  Burke,  Fox,  Barre,  and  Dunning,  was  hurled  at 
his  head.  Chatham  aimed  his  vast  oratorical  thunderbolts  at  his 
exposed  principles  and  measures.  And  yet,  without  claiming  or 
possessing  any  of  the  qualities  of  a  great  speaker,  he  succeeded 
in  maintaining  his  position,  in  spite  of  them  all,  for  some  years. 
His  mental  powers  consisted  chiefly  in  his  clear,  excellent  good 
sense,  his  natural  adroitness  and  tact,  his  ever  ready  fluency  of 
speech,  his  undaunted  and  unflinching  courage,  his  enlivening  and 
playful  wit,  and  a  perfect  self-possession,  and  control  of  temper, 
which  was  never  disconcerted  or  disturbed.  On  one  occasion,  a 
fierce  declaimer  in  Parliament  demanded  his  head  as  a  penalty 
for  his  treason ;  and  looking  round  to  see  what  effect  this  terrific 
onslaught  w^ould  produce  upon  his  victim,  was  overwhelmed  to 
see  him  asleep  ;  and  when  the  orator  at  length  awoke  him  by  his 
increased  vociferations,  Lord  North  complained  how  cruel  it  was 
to  deprive  him  of  the  solace  which  all  other  criminals  enjoyed,  of 
having  a  night's  rest  before  their  execution. 

The  most  splendid  intellectual  phase  of  the  reign  of  George 
in.  was  the  combination  of  parliamentary  talents  which  the  union 
of  Burke,  Fox,  Sheridan,  and  Pitt  presented  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  in  the  National  Legislature.     Four  such  men  were  never 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   THIRD.  301 

associated  together  before  or  since,  in  any  legislative  assembly. 
Burke  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  and  came  over  to  England 
at  an  early  age,  to  advance  his  slender  and  insufficient  fortunes. 
His  first  occupation  was  literature,  and  he  devoted  his  superior 
powers  to  the  elaboration  of  several  works — one  on  the  Sublime 
and  Beautiful — which  hold  a  permanent  place  in  English  litera- 
ture. It  is  probable  that  his  early  habits  of  scholastic  thinking 
exerted  a  strong  influence  on  his  subsequent  career  as  an  orator, 
and  gave  him  that  stately  and  elaborate  unfitness  for  a  popular 
assembly  which  characterized  him,  and  which  rendered  him, 
when  discussing  a  dry  and  abstruse  theme  of  finance  or  political 
philosophy,  one  of  the  most  tedious  and  insufferable  of  men.* 
He  possessed  an  imagination  of  the  richest  and  most  luxuriant 
affluence ;  which  was  stored  with  the  varied  learning  which  he 
had  gathered  from  the  literature  and  the  history  of  all  nations, 
climes,  and  ages.  This  peculiarity  was  illustrated  in  his  speeches 
against  Warren  Hastings,  during  which  he  proved  himself  to  be 
perfectly  familiar  with  all  that  appertained  to  the  vast  and  di- 
versified communities  of  India.  He  described  with  the  minuteness 
and  accuracy  of  which  a  native  or  a  resident  of  that  distant  zone 
might  alone  be  supposed  to  be  capable,  the  gorgeous  and  exquis- 
ite temples  of  the  Hindoo  faith,  the  worship  and  forms  of  gaudy 
and  hideous  idols,  the  repulsive  usages  and  sufferings  of  religious 
devotees,  the  magnificence  of  oriental  courts  and  palaces,  the 
bright  array  of  Indian  armies,  the  bewitching  loveliness  of  East- 
ern female  beauty,  the  mingled  and  miscellaneous  scenes  of  can- 
opied elephants,  showy  horsemen,  turbaned  slaves,  and  barbaric 
pageants  of  every  kind,  which  constantly  attract  and  astonish  the 
traveller ;  he  depicted  with  unrivalled  power,  the  ancient  laws, 
institutions,  and  customs,  both  religious,  literary,  and  political,  of 
that  vast  realm,  which  contains  within  its  limits  the  crumbling 

*  Thus  Goldsmith  very  properly  describes  him  on  these  occasions  as  being — 

"  Too  deep  for  his  hearers  :  he  went  on  refining, 
And  thought  of  convincing,  while  they  thought  of  dining." 

Samuel  Johnson  declared  that  no  man  could  meet  Burke  under  a  gateway,  in  a 
shower,  without  discovering  that  he  was  a  great  man. 


302  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEOEGES. 

empire  of  the  Great  Mogul,  the  palaces  of  Aladdin,  Ackbar,  and 
Arungzebe,  the  splendors  of  Delhi,  Lucknow,  and  Benares,  and 
the  matchless  marvels  of  art,  wealth,  and  luxury  which  there  ex- 
ist, of  which  peacock  thrones,  crystal  halls,  perfumed  fountains, 
and  royal  tombs  decorated  Avith  massive  gold  and  priceless  gems, 
are  freauent  and  familiar  ingredients. 

But  Burke  possessed  talents  of  a  more  practical  character 
than  a  gorgeous  imagination.  He  was  a  safe  and  sagacious 
statesman.  His  powerful  intellect  probed  to  the  bottom  of  every 
subject.  He  was  shocked  at  the  excesses  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, as  well  as  by  its  theoretic  principles,  and  he  remained  its 
fierce  traducer  till  the  last  day  of  his  existence.  His  mind  was 
so  constituted  that,  with  the  best  intentions,  if  his  prejudices  and 
conscientious  convictions  were  once  fixed  against  a  principle  or  a 
person,  he  was  their  unflinching  opponent  under  all  circumstances, 
and  at  every  risk.  In  his  prosecution  of  Warren  Hastings,  he 
was  evidently  justified  by  the  facts  of  the  case.  The  same  re- 
mark is  applicable  to  his  condemnation  of  the  Trench  Revolu- 
tion. But  he  sometimes  carried  his  ardor  to  unwarrantable 
lengths.  An  illustration  of  this  fact  is  furnished  by  his  treatment 
of  his  intimate  fi-iend  Mr.  Fox  in  1791,  when  discussing  the  bill 
for  establishing  a  constitution  in  Canada.  During  the  debate, 
the  French  Revolution  was  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Fox,  and  com- 
mended ;  though  the  latter  contended  that  remarks  in  reference 
to  the  state  of  France  were,  in  that  discussion,  totally  out  of 
order.  Mr.  Burke  replied  that  he  and  Mr.  Fox  had  often  dif- 
fered, and  with  no  loss  of  friendship  ;  but  that  there  was  some- 
thing in  the  "  accursed  French  Constitution "  which  envenomed 
every  thing.  Mr.  Fox  interrupted  him  and  said,  that  there  was  no 
loss  of  fi-iendship,  as  he  hoped,  even  in  that  dispute.  Mr.  Burke 
replied  that  there  was  an  end  to  their  friendship,  and  he  knew 
the  price  of  his  conduct.*  Mr.  Fox  hearing  this  declaration,  im- 
mediately burst  into  tears  at  the  thought  of  being  thus  remorse- 
lessly whirled  away  by  his  ancient  friend,  in  the  wild  tumultuous 
vortex  of  his  passion.    He  was  undoubtedly  honest  and  couscien- 

*  JBeUMm's  Life  of  George  III,  Vol.  iii.,  p.  475. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE  TIIIED.  303 

tious  in  all  his  opinions  and  measures.  He  was  incorruptil)le  in 
regard  to  pecuniary  ailalrs ;  and  in  1782,  while  Paymaster  of 
the  Forces,  he  voluntarily  diminished  his  own  emoluments  in 
order  to  increase  the  revenue  of  Chelsea  Hospital.  He  positively 
refused  a  pension  until  after  his  retirement  from  political  life  in 
1795  ;  although  he  had  been  pressed  by  his  friends  in  the  govern- 
ment to  accept  one  at  a  much  earlier  period. 

As  an  orator,  Mr.  Burke  stands  unrivalled  as  the  head  and 
representative  of  a  great  class.  He  belonged  to  the  elaborate, 
fforgeous,  and  somewhat  artificial  school,  each  of  whose  orations, 
like  those  of  Demosthenes,  may  be  regarded  as  a  fuiished  and 
complete  masterpiece.  The  same  highly-wrought  style  of  compo- 
sition which  is  exhibited  in  his  writings — in  his  Thoughts  on  the 
Causes  of  the  Present  Discontents,  in  his  Reflections  on  the 
French  Revolution,  in  his  Discourses  on  Taste — is  displayed  in 
his  speeches.  They  all  evince  a  mastery  over  a  wide  range  of 
intellectual  accomplishment,  and  are  richly  stored  with  argument, 
pathos,  epigram,  metaphor,  logic,  and  illustrations  from  every 
department  of  human  science.  He  was  greatly  the  superior  in 
the  profundity  and  diversity  of  his  attainments  to  Fox,  Pitt,  or 
Sheridan.  Throughout  lite  he  was  a  conservative  in  sentiment, 
and  always  opposed  and  condemned  the  supremacy  of  the  mob. 
He  undervalued  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  people,  and  did 
not  give  due  credit  to  their  influence  and  importance  in  the  body 
politic.  This  was  the  sole  error  under  which  he  labored,  the  sol- 
itary delusion  which  misled  him.  As  an  orator  he  is  deservedly 
placed  in  the  front  rank  of  British  statesmen ;  as  the  worthy 
rival  and  associate  of  Fox  and  Pitt,  and  as  being  the  greatest 
representative  of  a  class  of  men  whose  mental  and  moral  quali- 
ties differ  toto  coclo  from  those  of  the  illustrious  men  we  have 
just  named. 

Charles  James  Fox  was  the  chief  of  these.  No  greater  con- 
trast could  possibly  be  imagined  than  that  which  existed  between 
him  and  Burke.  He  was  the  son  of  Henry  Fox,  the  distinguished 
rival  of  the  first  William  Pitt.  He  was  deficient  in  those 
vast  and  varied  attainments  which  Burke  possessed.    His  acqui- 


304  EISTOKY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

sitions  did  not  extend  even  beyond  the  ordinary  range  of  English 
and  classical  learning,  modern  languages,  and  history.  Of  the 
sciences,  natural,  metaphysical,  and  mathematical,  he  was  generally 
ignorant ;  but  he  was  the  greatest  master  of  a  close,  clear,  con- 
clusive, declamatory  logic  that  ever  appeared  in  the  British  Par- 
liament. The  structure  of  all  his  faculties  was  robust  and  vigor- 
ous. He  was  careless  of  ornament,  and  never  sought  to  embellish 
his  speeches  with  any  of  the  beauteous  accessions  which  taste, 
poetry,  fancy,  or  art  might  bestow.  He  always  followed  closely 
and  tenaciously  the  main  point  under  discussion ;  met  and  over- 
threw with  the  strokes  of  his  logic  every  argument  which  op- 
posed his  advance ;  and  delivered  his  speeches  with  the  fervid, 
rapid,  abounding  fluency  which  indicated  both  the  richness  of  his 
mental  resources  and  his  lavish  expenditure  of  them.  His  de- 
livery was  ungraceful.  His  features  were  coarse,  heavy,  and 
repulsive,  with  a  dark  complexion  and  beetle-brow.  He  was  fond 
of  pleasure,  and  his  morals  were  of  the  worst  description.*  Yet 
his  temper  was  sweet  and  amiable  beyond  all  comparison ;  and 
it  rendered  him  the  idol  of  those  who  were  admitted  to  his  soci- 
ety. There  was  little  of  dissimulation  or  duplicity  in  his  charac- 
ter, and  his  impulsive  candor  sometimes  rendered  him  the  victim 
of  the  designing.  It  was  singular  that  a  man  so  given  to  a  life 
of  pleasure  and  business,  whose  scholastic  attainments  were  so 
limited,  and  whose  mental  habits  were  so  discursive,  should 
have  undertaken  the  task  of  authorship.  His  worst  speech 
was  the  only  one  which  he  ever  wrote,f  and  his  "  History," 
which  remains  merely  as  a  fragment,  clearly  indicates  that  it 
is  the  production  of  a  great  mind,  but  one  unused  to  the  task  of 
composition,  and  unskilled  in  the  acquisition   and  disposition 

*  On  one  occasion  he  was  travelling  with  his  mistress,  Mrs.  Armstead,  on 
the  Continent,  when  a  renewed  attack  of  the  king's  insanity  gave  hopes  of  the 
immediate  accession  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  the  regency,  and  Fox's  promotion 
to  the  premiership.  Though  he  hastened  back  rapidly  to  London,  he  was  doomed 
at  that  time  to  be  disappointed.  One  of  bis  chief  vices  was  his  desperate  de- 
votion to  gambling. 

+  Against  Francis,  Duke  of  Bedford.  See  Brougham's  Lives  of  Statesmen 
of  the  Time  of  George  III.,  Vol.  i.,  p.  157. 


LITE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   TIIIKD.  305 

of  the  proper  materials.  The  style  is  indeed  correct,  because  it 
is  polished  with  anxious  care ;  but  it  is  lifeless,  because  the  artist 
in  the  desire  to  polish,  has  subdued  all  the  salient  points  which  in- 
dicate the  presence  and  power  of  intellectual  life.  His  sole  glory- 
in  truth  was  as  a  debater.  In  opposition  and  in  reply  he  was  the 
most  formidable  antagonist  whom  the  younger  Pitt,  himself  a 
giant,  was  compelled  to  encounter.  His  political  opinions  or 
standpoint  was  that  of  the  genuine  Whigs ;  and  he  adhered  to 
these  views  throughout  his  chequered  life.  He  attained  the 
premiership  only  a  few  months  previous  to  his  decease  ;  and  the 
garland  for  which  he  had  toiled  during  many  laborious  and  tem- 
pestuous years,  withered  on  his  brow  almost  before  time  per- 
mitted it  to  settle  securely  there.  His  highest  merit  as  a  states- 
man probably  was,  that  he  supported  and  promoted  the  abolition 
of  the  African  Slave  Trade,  and  aided  to  wipe  out  that  crimson 
blot  from  the  escutcheon  of  England.  As  the  leader  of  a  great 
party  in  the  House  of  Commons  he  was  a  model,  and  has  since 
had  no  equal ;  for  his  potent  eloquence  was  connected  with  other 
qualities  equally  essential,  of  which  many  distinguished  party 
leaders  have  been  destitute  :  his  lax  moral  principles  made  him 
willing  to  adopt  unscrupulously  all  possible  expedients ;  his 
sweetness  of  temper  gained  over  and  retained  the  most  arrogant 
and  irascible  of  men  ;  his  placability  healed  the  wounds  of  every 
fierce  dispute ;  his  firmness  and  courage  made  him  reliable  in 
every  emergency,  while  they  rendered  him  undismayed  by  any 
peril.  One  singular  ground  of  his  immense  popularity  with  the 
nation,  was  the  fact  that  he  was  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  an 
Englishman,  in  every  respect ;  and  a  model  of  English  taste  as  an 
orator  and  as  a  man,  both  as  to  the  faculties  of  his  mind  and  his 
peculiar  social  qualities.  Even  his  fastidious  disregard  of  all  re- 
dundant ornament  in  his  speeches  commended  him  to  the  admi- 
ration of  his  countrymen  ;  for  they  regarded  him  as  the  honest, 
hearty,  and  sturdy  champion  of  English  freedom,  English  laws, 
English  commerce,  and  English  tastes,  in  opposition  to  all  that 
was  foreign,  transplanted,  or  corrupted. 

The  first  position  in  the  affection  of  the  British  people  was 


306  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUE   GEORGES. 

long  contested  with  Mr.  Fox  by  William  Pitt,  the  son  of  the 
"  Great  Commoner."  He  appeared  in  Parliament  at  a  very  early 
age,  and  exhibited  the  abilities  of  an  able  orator  and  a  mature 
politician,  at  a  period  of  life  when  others  are  acquiring  the  very 
rudiments  of  eloquence  and  political  science.  He  passed  through 
his  studies  at  Cambridge  with  credit,  and  there  became  familiar 
with  classical,  scientific,  and  mathematical  knowledge.  He  after- 
ward studied  the  law,  with  ultimate  reference  to  his  admission 
to  the  bar.  He  was  very  soon  transferred  by  the  interest  of  his 
family  and  by  his  own  growing  fame,  from  the  courts  of  justice 
to  the  more  ample  and  distinguished  arena  of  the  Senate ;  and 
from  the  day  of  his  entrance  there,  he  assumed  a  place  in  the  first 
rank  of  British  orators.  After  several  years  spent  in  this  po- 
sition he  was  promoted  to  the  cabinet  of  George  III.,  and  subse- 
quently, as  has  appeared  from  the  preceding  history,  to  the 
premiership. 

Pitt's  fame  as  an  orator  was  well  deserved.  He  was  not 
florid  or  ornate  in  his  style ;  he  rarely  called  in  the  use  of 
tropes  and  figures  to  aid  his  purpose ;  he  had  little  variety  of 
maimer,  and  less  gracefulness  of  delivery.  But  he  possessed  ex- 
traordinary fluency ;  he  never  hesitated,  as  Yox  sometimes  did, 
for  the  appropriate  word ;  and  there  was  a  magical  and  harmonious 
flow  of  his  utterance  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  speech, 
which  resembled  the  ample  and  affluent  current  of  a  great  river- 
rushing  onward  to  its  termination  with  confidence  and  exultation. 
His  orations  were  characterized  by  a  lucid  arrangement,  which 
rendered  his  discussion  of  the  most  intricate  financial  questioiis 
clear  and  intelligible ;  while  the  correctness  and  elegance  of  his 
diction,  his  perfect  self-possession,  his  strong  and  sonorous  voice, 
his  commanding  attitude,  and  his  significant  and  natural  ges- 
ticulation, free  from  all  surreptitious  arts  or  assumed  affecta- 
tions, contributed  to  make  him  one  of  the  most  impressive 
speakers  who  ever  graced  the  British  Parliament.  So  undeni- 
able was  his  merit  in  this  respect,  that  it  extorted  unqualified 
praise  from  his  opponents  and  rivals,  even  from  the  most  distin- 
guished ;    for  Mi\  Fox  himself,  when  replying  to  Pitt's  great 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   THIRD.  307 

speech  on  the  war  in  1803,  candidly  declared  that  "  the  orators 
of  antiquity  would  have  admired,  probably  would  have  envied 
it."  This  encomium  would  have  applied  with  greater  propriety 
to  Pitt's  speech  in  1791  against  the  Alrican  Slave  Trade,  which 
presented,  during  several  hours,  an  uninterrupted  torrent  of  the 
most  majestic,  pathetic,  and  impressive  declamation ;  respecting 
which  effort  William  Windham,  one  of  the  most  capable  of 
judges,  remarked  that,  as  he  thoughtfully  returned  to  his  home 
after  hearing  it,  he  was  lost  in  a  reverie  at  the  amazing  compass 
and  power  which  human  eloquence  could  possess,  and  which,  till 
then,  he  had  never  fully  witnessed. 

The  spirit  of  this  illustrious  statesman  was  bold  and  enter- 
prising. The  measures  which  he  proposed  and  adopted  were  of 
this  description ;  and  Napoleon  himself  had  no  abler  or  more 
formidable  opponent  in  his  ambitious  schemes  than  he.  His 
judgment  was  singularly  sagacious,  and  was  rarely  deluded  by 
the  most  specious  or  attractive  chimeras  which  solicited  his  at- 
tention. His  favorite  department  was  that  of  commerce  and 
finance ;  in  the  elaboration  of  its  details  he  was  perfectly  at 
home  ;  and  he  loved  to  associate  with  men  who  were  addicted  to 
similar  studies  and  pursuits.  He  was  eminently  industrious, 
laborious,  and  painstaking.  His  patriotism  was  of  the  purest 
and  highest  order.  When  invited  by  his  father  to  marry  the 
rich  and  illustrious  ^ladcmoiselle  Necker,  afterward  Madame  de 
Stael,  he  replied,  with  some  truth,  that  he  was  already  married  to 
his  country  ;  and  he  never  had  any  other  spouse.  To  her  he  de- 
voted his  undivided  affections,  and  all  the  gigantic  energies  of 
his  nature.  He  was  incorrui^tible  ;  and  during  his  long  tenure 
of  the  highest  office  in  the  realm,  he  reformed  many  of  the  worst 
abuses  which  cursed  the  administration  of  the  government,  and 
added  nothing  to  his  private  fortune.  He  was  more  scientific 
and  accurate  than  his  father  ;  but  he  was  less  colossal  in  his  in- 
tellectual bulk.  He  did  not  possess  the  majestic  and  imposing 
countenance  of  the  elder  Pitt,  nor  his  marvellous  grace  and 
power  of  delivery.  His  features  were  shorter,  and  less  expres- 
sive ;    and  his  person,  though  tall,  was  meagre.     In  advocating 


308  HISTOET   OF  THE  FOUR   GEOKGES. 

great  measures  of  domestic  policy  or  foreign  war,  he  cared  little 
for  the  expense  which  attended  them.  Accordingly,  the  result  of 
his  administration  uniformly  was  to  increase  the  public  debt  to 
a  prodigious  extent.  He  was  fertile  in  expedients,  and  devised  a 
multiplicity  of  new  taxes.  His  love  of  power  was  so  insatiable, 
that  he  could  bear  no  aspiring  person  near  the  throne.  Accordingly, 
his  chief  associates  and  agents  in  the  administration  were  Dundas, 
Eose,  Jenkinson,  and  Benfield — all  men  of  secondary  abilities. 
The  great  authority  with  Mr.  Pitt  in  the  science  of  political  econ- 
omy and  philosophy,  was  Adam  Smith,  whose  able  work.  The 
Wealth  of  Nations,  was  his  constant  companion  and  text-book. 
In  private  life  Pitt  was  amiable  and  blameless ;  but  he  had  no  do- 
mestic ties.  His  high  office,  he  justly  described  as  the  pride  of 
his  heart  and  the  pleasure  of  his  existence.  His  chief  glory  is 
that,  during  many  stormy  and  tempestuous  years,  he  fought  the 
whole  battle  of  his  government,  single-handed,  against  a  host  of 
the  most  fierce  and  gifted  adversaries  who  ever  assailed  a  minister, 
including  such  master  spirits  as  Burke,  Fox,  Sheridan,  Windham, 
North,  Erskine,  and  Barre. 

But  England,  so  fertile  in  men  of  superior  genius,  has  pro- 
duced but  one  Sheridan — the  most  remarkable  combination  of 
high  fliculties  and  contemptible  weaknesses  which  the  checkered 
page  of  history  exhibits.  In  his  youth  he  was  idle  and  indolent 
beyond  measure.  He  was  sent  to  school  at  Harrow,  where  he 
might  have  profited  by  the  instructions  of  the  learned  Parr ; 
but  he  paid  no  attention  to  his  books,  and  till  the  day  of 
his  death,  remained  so  deficient  in  acquired  stores  of  learning, 
that  he  never  knew  any  thing  of  so  ordinary  an  attainment 
as  French,  and^e  frequently  misspelt  words  in  his  native  lan- 
guage. After  leaving  Harrow,  Sheridan  being  without  the 
means  of  attending  a  university,  took  to  literature,  the  usual 
starving  reFuge  of  dependent  and  impoverished  genius.  He 
wrote  poetry  and  novels — all  of  which,  happily  for  the  fame  of 
the  author,  have  long  since  descended  to  oblivion.  He  resided 
at  this  period  of  his  early  manhood  at  Bath,  and  there  became 
acquainted  with  a  distinguished  songstress,  Miss  Linley,  whom 


LIFE  AlH)  KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   THIRD.  309 

he  afterward  married.  She  was  remarkable  for  her  beauty,  in- 
telligence, and  wit,  and  shared  the  subsequent  fate  of  her  husband 
with  mingled  pride,  sorrow,  and  patience. 

Though  Sheridan  entered  himself  as  a  student  of  law  on  the 
books  of  the  Inner  Temple,  he  never  seriously  prosecuted  Jiis 
legal  studies.  Shortly  after  his  marriage,  he  obtained  a  share  in 
Drury  Lane  Theatre,  and  began  to  write  plays.  His  convivial 
qualities  were  so  remarkable  that  they  rendered  him  popular  in 
the  highest  circles  of  the  metropolis ;  and  he  soon  obtained  suffi- 
cient influence  to  be  elected  to  a  seat  in  Parliament  from  the  bor- 
ough of  Stafford.  In  early  manhood  this  remarkable  man  was 
surrounded  by  all  the  splendors  of  genius,  fame,  fashion,  and 
popularity.  He  attached  himself  to  the  Whig  party,  and  dis- 
played in  Parliament  a  degree  of  popular  eloquence  which  was, 
for  its  kind,  unequalled  and  unrivalled,  and  made  him  one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  those  allies  who  aided  the  opposition  which  as- 
sailed George  III.  during  many  years. 

Sheridan  was  a  man  without  principle,  who  lived  only  for 
popularity,  and  for  the  emoluments  of  office.  He  deserted  his 
party  and  his  friends  whenever  his  interests  dictated  such  a 
course.  This  assertion  is  proved  by  his  conduct  ,on  two  memo- 
rable occasions  ;  in  1802  and  in  1806.  He  himself  urged  as  an 
excuse  for  his  perfidy,  the  pecuniary  necessities  of  his  position ; 
but  with  a  man  of  principle  such  an  argument  can  have  no 
weight.*     His  political  and  parliamentary  career  continued  till 

*  "  I  have  seen  Sheridan  weep  two  or  three  times  (saf s  Lord  Byron) :  it  may 
be  that  he  was  maudlin,  but  this  only  rendered  it  more  affecting,  for  who 
would  see 

'  From  Marlborough's  ej^es  the  tears  of  dotage  flow, 
And  Swift  expire  a  driveller  and  a  show  ? ' 

"  Once  1  saw  him  cry  at  Robins,  the  auctioneer's,  after  a  splendid  dinner  full 
of  great  names  and  high  spirits.  I  had  the  honor  of  sitting  next  to  Sheridan. 
The  occasion  of  his  tears  was  some  observation  on  the  stanchness  of  the  Whigs 
in  resisting  office  and  keeping  to  their  principles.  Sheridan  turned  round  :  '  Sir, 
it  is  easy  for  my  Lord  G.,  or  Earl  G.,  or  Marquis  B.,  or  Lord  H.,  with  thousands 
upon  thousands  a  year,  some  of  it  either  directly  derived  or  inherited  in  sine- 
cures or  acquisitions  from  the  public  money,  to  boast  of  their  patriotism  and 
keep  aloof  from  temptation  ;  but  they  do  not  know  from  what  temptations  those 


310  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

1812,  when  he  was  defeated  in  his  attempt  to  be  returned  again 
from  Stafford  ;  after  that  period  he  was  but  a  lonely  and  helpless 
wreck  upon  the  tempestuous  sea  of  life.  He  continued  to  de- 
cline in  public  favor,  overwhelmed  with  debt  and  misery,  until 
at  last  his  career  was  closed  by  death  in  1816. 

Sheridan's  talents  were  of  a  multifarious  character.     Several 
of  his  plays,  the  Rivals,  and  the  School  for  Scandal,  are  among 
the  best  in  English  comedy.     This  was  nothing  extraordinary, 
inasmuch  as  he  was  the  son  of  an  actor,  had  early  been  made 
familiar  with  the  stage,  and  had  himself  been  the  manager  of  a 
theatre.     But  that  such  a  man  should  possess  talents  of  the  first 
order  in  the  Parliament  of  a  great  nation,  among  many  other 
gifted  and  illustrious  men,  was  one  of  the  intellectual  phenomena 
of  modern  times.     He  possessed  a  warm  imagination,  a  bold  and 
intrepid  spirit,  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  human  nature,  a 
brilliant  and  pungent  wit,  an  unrivalled  quickness  of  repartee, 
which,  though  often  prepared  beforehand,  and  kept,  cut  and  dried 
in  readiness  for  the  first  suitable  occasion  which  might  offer  for  its 
use,  was  always  introduced  with  the  best  effect,  and  with  excel- 
lent taste ;    a  style   of  impassioned,  fervid  declamation,  which 
charmed  the  ear  and  led  captive  the  judgment,  a  sweet  and  son- 
orous voice,  a  graceful  and  appropriate  delivery,  and  an  inventive 
genius  which  enabled  him  to  turn  the  arguments  and  authorities 
of  his  opponents  to  his  own  use,  and  to  their  discomfiture— these 
were  the  intellectual  and  physical  resources  which  rendered  this 
weak,   vacillating,   and  miserable   man   one   of  the  most   dis- 
tinguished ornaments  of  the  British  Parliament.     He  was  not  a 
great  statesman,  nor  any  statesman  at  all ;  for  he  originated  no 
measure  of  importance.     He  was  not  adapted  to  exercise  the 
supreme  command  of  a  party  ;  but  was  admirably  fitted  to  fill 
the  post  of  a  lieutenant-general  under  such  able  leaders  as  Fox 
and  Burke.*     He  was  to  these  men  what  Murat  and  Ney  were 

have  kept  aloof  who  had  equal  pride,  at  least  equal  talent,  and  not  unequal  pas- 
sions, and  nevertheless  knew  not,  in  the  course  of  their  lives,  what  it  was  to 
have  a  shilling  of  their  own ;  and  in  saying  this  he  wept."  Manuscript  Diary 
of  Lord  Byron,  p.  57. 

*  "  When  Fox  was  asked  what  he  thought  the  best  speech  he  had  ever  heard, 


LIFE   AND  KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  THIED.  311 

to  Napoleon  :  perhaps  he  might  even  claim  such  eminent  relation 
to  them  as  that  >vhich  Davoiist  and  Masscna  bore  to  tlic  tri- 
umjjhant  Corsican.  Ilis  most  splendid  displays  of  eloquence 
were  those  made  in  connection  with  the  trial  of  Warren  Hastings. 
His  sparkling  and  brilliant  declamation  on  that  memorable  occa- 
sion charmed  and  delighted  the  vast  audience  which  crowded 
Westminster  Hall,  and  bore  a  favorable  comparison  even  with 
the  speeches  of  Burke.  This  is  the  bright  side  of  this  strange 
picture.  The  personal  habits  of  this  versatile  and  gifted  man 
were  exceedingly  gross  and  low.  He  was  greatly  addicted  to 
intemperance  ;  and  his  pecuniary  embarrassments,  and  the  ridic- 
ulous or  dishonest  expedients  to  which  they  led  him,  rendered 
him  the  laughing  stock  of  a  nation  who  willingly  admired  his 
brilliant  genius,  and  praised  his  stupendous  abilities. 

Having  thus  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  most  eminent 
statesmen  of  the  reign  of  George  III.,  a  shorter  notice  will  suffice 
for  those  of  inferior  abilities  and  importance.  William  Windham 
ranked  next  after  those  already  considered.  His  mind  was  re- 
markable for  its  shrewd  and  crafty  tendency,  which  made  him 
cautious  and  prudent,  and  deprived  him  of  the  boldness  and  self- 
reliance  necessary  to  a  great  party  leader.  He  was  exceedingly 
handsome  in  his  person,  singularly  chivalrous  and  courtly  in  his 
manners,  and  his  speeches  were  marked  by  a  superior  degree  of 
ability.  Their  prevalent  tone  was  that  of  familiar  conversation ; 
which  of  course  deprived  them  of  the  power  and  ardor  which 
fervid  declamation  always  gives  even  to  orations  of  inferior 
merit.  His  mental  caUbre  was  secondary  ;  and  his  fondness  for 
paradox  sometimes  rendered  his  opinions  dangerous  and  unreli- 
able. His  political  career  achieved  for  him  the  esteem  of  his 
countrymen  :  neither  his  talents  nor  their  praise  ascended  to  the 
highest  range,  or  placed  him  in  the  loftiest  niche. 

One  other  man  deserves  to  be  ranked  in  this  bright  and  select 

he  replied — Sheridan's  on  the  impeachment  of  Hastings,  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, (not  that  in  Westminster  Hall.)   When  asked  what  he  thought  of  his  own 

speech  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  he  replied,  '  That  was  a  d d  good 

speech  too.'    I  heard  this  from  Lord  Holland."    Lord  Jiyron's  MS. 


312  mSTOKT  OF  THE  FOUE  GEORGES. 

category,  over  a  part  of  -whose  fame  a  singular  mystery  hangs : 
Stat  nominis  nvibra.  Sir  Philip  Francis  was  a  man  of  superior 
ability  ;  though  not  of  a  popular  or  brilliant  description.  He 
first  distinguished  himself  in  India  as  the  ablest  and  most  unyield- 
ing enemy  of  Warren  Hastings ;  and  after  his  return  to  England 
his  influence  in  Parliament,  and  his  concealed  power  as  the  author 
of  the  famous  "  Letters  of  Junius,"  rendered  him  still  more  im- 
portant. Francis  possessed  a  wide  range  of  thought,  a  retentive 
memory,  a  classical  taste,  and  great  force  and  energy  of  expression. 
His  chief  defect  was  his  bitter  acrimony  of  spirit,  which  charac- 
terized every  thing  he  said  and  did.  He  was  tall  and  thin  in 
person,  and  his  somewhat  repulsive  and  sharp  features  seemed  a 
fitting  indication  of  the  quality  of  his  spirit.  An  intimate  ac- 
quaintance of  the  man,  for  friends  he  had  none,  declared  that  he 
never  saw  him  smile.  As  a  speaker  he  was  quick  and  awkward 
in  his  gestures,  but  forcible,  unadorned,  and  effective.  "  I  am 
not  an  old  man,"  said  he,  when  opposing  Pitt's  famous  India  Bill, 
"  yet  I  remember  the  time  when  such  a  proposition  would  have 
roused  the  whole  country  into  a  flame.  Had  the  experiment 
been  made  when  the  illustrious  statesman,  the  late  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham, enjoyed  a  seat  in  this  assembly,  he  would  have  sprung  from 
the  bed  of  sickness,  he  would  have  solicited  some  friendly  hand 
to  lay  him  on  the  floor,  and  thence  with  a  monarch's  voice  he 
would  have  called  the  whole  kingdom  to  arms  to  oppose  it.  But 
he  is  dead,  and  has  left  nothing  in  the  world  that  resembles  him. 
Jle  is  dead,  and  the  sense,  the  honor,  the  character,  and  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  nation  are  dead  with  him."  The  effect  of  this 
passage  is  said  to  have  been  prodigious  and  lasting. 

One  of  the  great  enigmas  of  English  history  is  the  question 
whether  Francis  was  Junius  1  There  is  a  flood  of  preponderating 
evidence  in  favor  of  the  supposition  which,  in  the  absence  of 
direct  proof  on  either  side,  is  almost  conclusive.  Every  senti- 
ment contained  in  the  Letters  corresponds  with  what  were  known 
to  be  the  opinions  of  Francis.  The  style,  which  is  so  peculiar,  is 
precisely  his  own — that  polished,  condensed,  epigrammatic  style, 
which  has  elicited  so  much  praise  which  it  does  not  deserve. 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   TIIE  TIIERD.  313 

For  the  reader  who  earefully  scrutinizes  those  celebrated  produc- 
tions will  readily  discover  that  the  author  has  only  one  way  of 
treating  all  subjects  ;  that  he  uniformly  constructs  his  sentences 
so  that  they  may  be  most  expressive  and  telling,  without  any  re- 
gard to  the  question  whether  truth  will  in  all  cases  justify  the 
superlative  phrases  which  he  uses  ;  that  his  savage  invectives 
would  be  just  as  appropriate  to  one  bad  minister  as  to  another  ; 
and  that,  on  the  whole,  a  hard,  malicious,  vindictive  spirit  filled 
with  inimicitia  contra  omnes  homines,  lurks  beneath  his  polished 
yet  virulent  periods.  Some  writers  have  asserted  that  the  only 
objection  to  the  supposition  that  Francis  was  Junius,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  his  vanity  would  not  have  allowed  him  to 
conceal  his  authorship  of  so  celebrated  a  production.*  But  the 
author  had  ample  reasons  for  keeping  the  secret  till  his  dying 
day.  lie  had  libelled  some  of  the  best  men  of  his  time,  and 
even  some  of  the  worst.  He  had  shamefully  slandered  Lord 
Mansfield,  the  brightest  ornament  of  the  British  judiciary  ;  he 
had  almost  broken  the  heart  of  the  amiable  and  learned  Black- 
stone  ;  he  had  trampled  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  Sir  William  Dra- 
per, and  Home  Tooke  in  the  very  dust.f  All  the  public  men  of 
Enfjland  regarded  the  issue  of  a  new  number  of  the  "  Public  Adver- 
tiser  "  as  the  advent  of  a  thunderbolt  which  might  strike,  no  one 
could  foretell  whom.  Though  Junius  was  the  professed  advocate  of 
popular  rights,  and  was  a  defender  of  that  vile  and  filthy  baboon 
George  Wilkes,  he  was  feared  and  detested  by  the  nation ;  and 
had  his  identity  become  known,  he  would  never  have  died  in  his 
bed.  Apprehensions  so  well  founded  overbalanced  the  vanity  of 
Francis,  and  constrained  him  to  bury  the  secret  of  Junius  with 
him  in  the  eternal  silence  of  the  tomb.  J 

*  Wraxall,  in  his  Posthumous  Memoirs,  makes  this  assertion. 

+  Sir  William  Draper  died  with  only  one  ardent  wish  uugratified  ;  that  he 
might  discover  who  Junius  was,  and  then  bathe  his  sword  in  his  heart's  blood. 
Nor  did  he  keep  this  purpose  by  any  means  a  secret. 

X  One  of  the  contemporary  journals  charged  Francis  with  being  the  author  of 

Junius ;  and  he  denied  the  charge  in  so  ambiguous  a  manner  as  iu  effect  to  give 

strength  to  the  suspicion  :    "  Sir,  you  have  attributed  to  me  the  writing  of 

Junius's  letters.    If  you  choose  to  propagate  a  false  and  malicious  report,  you 

14 


314  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

Tlie  other  prominent  statesmen  who  adorned  the  reign  of 
George  III.  were  Wilberforce,  the  great  opponent  of  the  slave 
trade,  Lord  Grenville,  Mr.  Dundas,  Mr.  Perceval,  and  Mr.  Can- 
ning ;  though  the  last  and  Wilberforce  belong  more  properly  to 
the  era  of  George  IV.  The  reign  of  George  III.  was  prolific  of 
great  jurists ;  for  then  flourished  the  matchless  Mansfield,  the 
strong-minded  but  profane  Thurlow,  the  coarse  and  uneducated 
yet  indefatigable  Kenyon,  the  stern  and  unbending  Loughborough, 
the  precise  and  accurate  Chief  Justice  Gibbs,  the  logical  Sir 
William  Grant,  and  last,  but  among  the  greatest,  the  eloquent 
and  graceful  Lord  Erskine.  Another  remarkable  character  be- 
longs to  this  era,  who  was  neither  statesman,  lawyer,  judge,  nor 
orator,  yet  holds  no  obscure  place  among  the  celebrities  of  his 
time.  This  was  Horace  Walpole,  the  author  of  the  "  Castle  of 
Otranto,"  and  the  witty,  elegant,  gossipping  writer  of  Letters 
which  have  not  lost  their  value  or  their  attractiveness  even  in 
our  own  time.  He  was  born  in  1717,  and  was  the  third  and 
youngest  son  of  Robert  Walpole.  He  was  educated  at  Eton  and 
Cambridge.  After  leaving  the  university  he  travelled  over 
Europe,  accompanied  during  part  of  his  tour  by  the  poet  Gray. 
In  Italy  he  gratified  his  love  of  art  and  of  antiquarian  literature 
by  the  study  and  inspection  of  the  great  monuments  of  both, 
which  there  exist.  He  returned  home,  and  possessing  an  ample 
fortune,  he  entered  Parliament  in  his  twenty -fourth  year.  He 
soon  wearied  of  the  rude  storms  of  parliamentary  life,  and  re- 
tired, determined  to  spend  his  days  in  elegant  and  intellectual 
trifling.  He  purchased  a  mansion  named  Strawberry  Hill,  and 
proceeded  to  alter  and  adorn  the  building  according  to  his  fanciful 
and  eccentric  taste.  He  crowded  the  grounds  with  grottoes, 
statuary,  and  miniature  temples.  He  filled  the  house  with  nick- 
may.  Yours,  &c."  Burke  never  wrote  the  letters  of  Junius,  because  he  had 
more  amplitude  and  variety  of  style.  It  was  not  Wilkes,  for  he  had  less  ability 
than  the  letters  display.  It  was  not  Dunning,  for  lie  would  not  have  made  the 
blunders  in  law  which  Junius  committed.  Single-Speech  Hamilton  had  not  the 
necessary  energy  and  courage.  Home  Tooke  is  himself  assailed  by  Junius,  and 
himself  replies  to  him.  Every  probability  and  every  argument  cluster  around 
Sir  Philip  Francis,  and  fix  on  him  the  indelible  brand. 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   THIRD.  315 

nacks,  gimcracks,  rarities,  and  curiosities  of  every  description. 
He  collected  specimens  in  every  department  of  art ;  missals 
illuminated  with  great  care  ;  sculptures  and  vases  by  Benvenuto 
Cellini ;  portraits  of  distinguished  people  of  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries ;  marbles  and  bronzes  of  every  style ;  collections  of  coins, 
crockery,  all  kinds  of  bijouterie  from  every  country  under  heaven ; 
and  a  handsome  and  rare  collection  of  books,  plates,  old  and  odd 
furniture,  and  antique  armor.  He  devoted  his  life  to  the  perfec- 
tion of  this  strange  assortment,  and  to  the  several  literary  works 
which  he  published.  In  1791  he  succeeded  his  nephew  in  the 
Earldom  of  Orford ;  and  he  died  at  last  in  1797,  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  his  age,  after  a  long  career  of  pleasure,  cheerfulness 
and  amusement.*  His  talents  were  such  that,  in  spite  of  his 
strange  eccentricities,  his  name  occupies  no  insignificant  place  in 
the  contemporary  history  of  George  III. 

The  era  of  this  monarch  was  rendered  remarkable  by  the  many 
eminent  men  in  literature  who  then  flourished.  Though  he  him- 
self  furnished  but  little  patronage  to  that  department  of  intellec- 
tual endeavor,  it  advanced  and  produced  abundant  fruits  without 
his  aid,  and  in  spite  of  his  apathy.  The  most  eminent  historians 
of  this  period  were  Gibbon,  Hume  and  Robertson.  Gibbon  was 
born  at  Putney  in  Surrey,  in  1737.  His  father  was  a  man  of 
affluence  and  a  member  of  Parliament.  In  his  fifteenth  year  he 
went  to  Oxford  university,  where  he  was  distinguished  for  his 
discursive  reading  and  his  habits  of  dissipation.     This  career  was 

*  At  his  Strawberry  Hill  press  were  printed  his  "  Anecdotes  of  Painting 
Engraving,  and  the  Arts  in  England  ; ''  "  Historic  Doubts  of  the  Life  and  Reign 
of  Richard  III.,"  a  work  that  excited  in  its  time  much  attention  ;  "  The  Myste- 
rious Mother,"  a  tragedy ;  "  A  Catalogue  of  the  Royal  and  Noble  Authors  of 
England;"  "iEdes  Walpoliana,  or  a  Description  of  the  House  of  Sir  Robert 
Walpole,  at  Houghton  ; "  with  others  of  less  importance,  but  still  sought  after 
with  avidity  by  bibliomaniacs,  for  the  peculiarity  of  their  contents. 

But  it  is  upon  his  Letters  chiefly  that  the  posthumous  fame  of  Horace  Wal- 
pole rests.  He  was  a  gossip  of  the  first  order.  "  His  epistolary  talents,"  as 
Miss  Berry  has  said,  "  have  shown  our  language  to  be  capable  of  all  the  grace 
and  all  the  charms  of  the  French  of  iladame  de  Sevigne  ;  "  and  if  to  tittle-tattle 
upon  paper  gracefully,  be  a  merit,  Horace  Walpole  cannot  be  denied  to  have 
attained  that  flattering  distinction. 


316  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

soon  ended  by  his  becoming  a  papist,  and  his  removal  from  the 
miiversity  by  his  incensed  father.  To  rid  him  of  his  Catholic 
tendencies  he  was  sent  to  reside  at  Lausanne,  in  the  family  of  a 
Protestant  clergyman,  who  became  his  tutor  in  classical  and 
historical  studies.  In  1758  his  father  permitted  him  to  return 
to  England.  In  1761  he  published  his  first  work,  an  Essai  sur 
V Etude  de  la  Litterature.  In  1763  he  egain  returned  to  the  con- 
tinent, visited  Rome,  and  there,  while  seated  meditatively  amid 
the  crumbling  ruins  of  the  Capitol,  he  first  conceived  the  idea  of 
writing  the  work  which  has  since  rendered  his  name  immortal. 
He  revisited  England  in  1770,  and  was  even  a  member  of  Par- 
liament for  several  years  before  he  published  the  first  volume  of 
his  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  His  attention  was 
wholly  occupied  in  the  completion  of  this  immense  and  elaborate 
production  from  1768  till  1787,  during  the  greater  part  of  which 
interval  he  resided  on  the  continent  at  Lausanne.  He  returned 
to  England  to  visit  his  intimate  friend  Lord  Sheffield,  in  1793, 
and  died  in  London  in  the  commencement  of  the  following  year. 
This  celebrated  writer  was  characterized  by  a  cold  and  phlegmatic 
temperament,  and  was  induced  to  labor  only  by  the  overwhelm- 
ing pressure  of  his  vanity  and  ambition.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  his  time ;  his  intellectual  treasures  were 
rich,  vast  and  varied ;  and  his  literary  sagacity  enabled  him  to 
use  his  resources  to  the  best  advantage.  In  sentiment  he  was 
an  infidel,  and  had  imbibed  the  opinion  that  sincere  belief  in  any 
form  of  religion  was  an  impossibility  to  the  enlightened  and  untram- 
melled human  mind.  His  great  history  is  the  ablest  and  most  dan- 
gerous opponent  to  Christianity,  because  an  indirect  and  an  unde- 
clared one,  which  modern  literature  presents.  It  is  rich  and  elabo- 
rate with  various  learning,  and  filled  with  acute  and  sagacious  ob- 
servations. It  is  polished  with  scrupulous  care,  and  loaded  with 
excessive  ornament.  One  of  its  defects  is  that  it  labors  to  de- 
grade and  deride  whatever  is  noblest  and  most  heroic  in  human 
conduct  and  character ;  and  places  the  worst  aspects  of  humanity 
in  tlie  boldest  prominence.  It  teaches  no  great  ethical  lessons,  or 
dogmatic  truths ;  but  endeavors  to  confound  and  obliterate  the 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   TIIIKD.  317 

distinction  between  virtue  and  vice,  and  thereby  create  contempt 
for  all  religion  and  moral  principle.  Gibbon  himself  was  a  dis- 
ciple of  Voltaire,  and  entertained  the  same  opinions  in  morals, 
literature,  philosopliy  and  religion,  Avhich  characterized  that 
gifted  and  witty  Frenchman.  The  subject  of  his  history  was  an 
admirable  one,  and  had  it  been  executed  with  virtue,  honesty  and 
benevolence,  equal  to  the  genius  and  erudition  which  it  evinces, 
it  would  have  been  a  monument  to  his  fame  and  reputation  nobler 
than  that  possessed  by  any  modern  writer.  In  tracing  the 
progress  and  fortunes  of  the  Christian  church  he  divests  the 
noblest  and  best  institution  which  the  world  has  ever  seen,  of  all 
its  sublimer  attributes,  renders  every  thing  commonplace  and 
mean,  infuses  the  deadly  poison  of  doubt,  ridicule,  and  unbelief 
into  every  event  and  development ;  and  while  he  paints  the 
beastly  and  voluptuous  Mahomet  with  all  the  luxuriance  of  Ital- 
ian art,  and  exalts  the  weak  and  perfidious  Julian  to  the  highest 
niche  in  the  temple  of  glory,  he  degrades  Constantine  and  Theodo- 
sius  into  ridiculous,  short-sighted  and  imbecile  personages.  But 
in  spite  of  all  its  great  defects,  the  unquestionable  merits  of  an 
intellectual  kind  which  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  Rome  contains, 
will  secure  it  a  permanent  place  in  the  first  rank  of  the  achieve- 
ments in  English  literature. 

Hume  chose  a  less  gorgeous  and  brilliant  theme  as  the  sub- 
ject of  his  labors  ;  and  his  mental  qualities  were  well  adapted  to 
the  nature  of  his  task.  With  competent  learning  he  possessed 
a  deep  knowledge  of  the  old  philosophical  systems,  had  studied 
the  relations  between  the  ideal  and  the  material  world,  the  laws 
of  testimony  and  historical  authority  ;  and  he  wrote  therefore,  not 
for  technical  readers  or  verbal  critics,  but  for  statesmen,  for 
intelligent  observers  of  men  and  events,  Avho  desired  to  probe 
to  the  real  foundation  and  causes  of  things,  and  not  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  mere  surface.  His  style  is  unadorned,  clear,  strong  and 
forcible.  Though  belonging  to  the  school  of  philosophical  infidels 
he  did  not  obtrude  his  sentiments  continually  throughout  his  his- 
tory ;  and  though  he  did  not  admire  the  Puritans,  or  the  early 
defenders  of  the  Protestant  faith  in  the  north  of  Europe,  he 


318  HI8T0EY   OF   THE  FOTTE   GEOEGES. 

never  follows  them  and  the  cause  which  they  supported  with  the 
perpetual  sneer  and  the  insatiable  enmity  which  Gibbon  displays 
on  every  page  against  the  Christian  cause  and  name. 

Eobertson's  characteristics  were  different  from  those  of  both 
his  rivals.  His  History  of  Charles  V.  indicates  that  laborious 
mediocrity  which  elicits  no  new  ideas,  or  considers  human  conduct 
and  opinion  under  any  new  or  original  aspect.  He  wrote,  not 
for  the  thinking  few,  who  closely  scrutinize  and  examine,  but 
for  the  great  mass  and  multitude  of  men,  who,  though  educated, 
are  never  thorough  or  profound  in  their  researches  or  reflections. 
His  style  is  smooth  and  correct,  his  opinions  are  always  moder- 
ate, and  cautious  of  trenching  on  extravagances  or  extremes  of 
any  kind,  and  he  writes  and  thinks  with  the  mechanical  accuracy 
and  uniformity  of  a  practised  advocate  or  preacher.  He  was 
nominally  a  believer  in  the  Christian  faith,  and  was  a  distin- 
guished member  of  the  Scotch  Church ;  but  in  reality  he  was  an 
infidel  or  at  least  skeptical,  as  a  passage  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
Gibbon  clearly  indicates,*  He  was  probably  more  eminent  as  a 
pulpit  orator  and  a  controversialist  in  the  Scottish  General  As- 
sembly, than  as  a  historian. 

During  the  reign  of  George  III.  the  most  eminent  writer  in  po- 
litical economy  and  philosophy  of  modern  times  lived  and  floui-- 
ished.  Adam  Smith,  the  author  of  the  Wealth  of  Nations,  was 
a  Scotchman  by  birth.  He  was  stolen  by  gypsies  in  his  third 
year,  but  was  fortunately  recovered  before  the  captors  had 
escaped  with  their  prey.  He  passed  three  years  at  the  univer- 
sity of  Glasgow,  and  thence  proceeded  to  Oxford.  At  eighteen 
years  of  age  he  j^ublished  his  "  Colonial  Policy,"  which,  for  so 
young  an  author,  exhibited  remarkable  abilities.  In  1748  he 
settled  in  Edinburgh,  and  during  three  years  read  a  course  of 
lectures  on  Rhetoric.  His  associates  at  this  period  were  Hume, 
Robertson,  and  Wcdderburne.  In  1751  he  was  elected  to  the 
professorship  of  Logic  in  the  university  of  Glasgow,  which  was 
afterward  exchanged  for  that  of  Moral  Philosophy.  In  1759  he 
published  his  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  which  never  obtained 

*  See  Westminster  Eeview,  September,  1845,  p.  52. 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF  GEORGE  TIIE  TIIIKD.  319 

much  influence  or  celebrity.  The  rest  of  his  life  was  devoted  to 
the  elaboration  of  the  chief  monument  of  his  fame,  his  work  on 
Political  Economy.  During  its  composition  he  corresponded 
■with  Turgot,  D'Alembert,  Necker,  and  other  French  philoso- 
phers, in  reference  to  the  principles  involved  in  the  work.  lie 
even  visited  France  to  facilitate  his  researches.  On  his  return 
he  shut  himself  up  for  ten  years  in  his  study  at  Kirkaldy,  and  in 
177G  he  published  as  the  perfected  fruit  of  his  labors  his  "  Inquiry 
into  the  Causes  and  Nature  of  the  Wealth  of  Nations."  The 
immediate  and  subsequent  success  of  the  work  was  very  great ; 
and  it  still  remains  an  undisputed  classic  in  that  important  and 
abstruse  branch  of  literature. 

Some  eminent  poets  flourished  during  this  protracted  reign,  the 
most  distinguished  of  whom  were  Johnson,  Shenstone,  Churchill, 
Young,  Akenside,  Gray,  Goldsmith  and  Cowper.  The  Task,  the 
Night  Thoughts,  the  Elegy,  the  Deserted  Village,  and  the  Vanity 
of  Human  W^ishes,  are  gems  in  English  literature  of  unsurpassed 
beauty  and  value,  which  have  gained  the  admiration  and  familiar 
knowledge  of  reading  persons  of  both  sexes  throughout  the  civil- 
ized world.  To  expatiate  further  upon  their  merits  were  a 
superfluous  labor. 

George  III.  was  the  patron  of  good  morals,  and  during  his 
reign  he  endeavored  to  repress  the  boldness  and  the  prevalence 
of  vice ;  but  the  state  of  the  Established  Church  was  not  such  as 
to  indicate  the  existence  of  much  piety  among  its  members.  A 
few  incidents  will  prove  the  truth  of  this  assertion.  Dr.  Corn- 
wallis.  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  gave  great  oflensc  to  the  few 
pious  persons  in  the  Church  by  his  worklliness  and  love  of  pleas- 
are.  He  frequently  entertained  fashionable  and  dissipated  com- 
pany in  the  palace  of  Lambeth,  at  which  times  excesses  of  frivol- 
ity and  indecorum  were  permitted,  which  were  scandalous  in  a 
churchman  of  his  rank  and  ofiice.  The  wife  of  the  Archbishop, 
an  eleffant  and  masrnificent  woman,  and  the  leader  of  the  fashionable 
circle,  aided  and  perhaps  tempted  to  the  occurrence  of  these  events. 
Lady  Huntingdon,  a  person  of  true  piety  and  reforming  zeal,  con- 
veyed intelligence  of  these  scandalous  proceedings  to  the  king ; 


320  '  HISTOKY   OF   THE   FOUE    GEOEGES. 

and  the  latter  was  so  incensed  at  details  which,  upon  further  in- 
quiry, he  found  to  be  true,  that  he  wrote  the  Eight  Eeverend 
offender  a  letter  condemning  his  conduct,  and  giving  him  very 
plainly  to  imderstand  that  a  reformation  was  indispensably  neces- 
sary.* Even  Queen  Charlotte  censured  the  conduct  of  the 
prelate,  and  remarked,  that  it  was  a  pity  that  Lady  Huntingdon 
could  not  be  made  a  bishop,  for  if  she  were,  her  piety  and  zeal 
would  reprove  more  than  one  incumbent  on  the  bench. 

As  were  the  prelates,  such  in  a  great  measure  were  the  in- 
ferior clergy.  At  a  drawing  room  held  by  the  queen  in  1777, 
Cumberland,  w^ho  was  present,  asserts  that  a  nobleman  had  his 
order,  which  was  encircled  with  diamonds  worth  seven  hundred 
pounds  snatched  from  his  ribbon ;  and  he  believed  the  theft  to 
have  been  committed  by  a  clergyman  who  stood  near  him,  but 
one  of  such  high  position  that  he  did  not  dare  to  charge  him 
with  it.  A  similar  attempt  was  made  on  a  similar  occasion  to 
tear  off  the  diamond  guard  of  the  sword  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
which  was  of  great  value ;  and  in  this  instance  the  known  but 
unpunished  offender  was  a  clergyman  of  the  Established  Church. 
Dr.  Dodd  received  no  mercy  from  the  king  when  convicted  of 
forgery  and  condemned  to  death,  inasmuch  as  the  monarch  was 
resolved  to  make  an  impressive  example  of  him  to  the  recreant 
order  of  men  to  whom  he  belonged.  Their  notorious  vices  and 
unworthiness  led  to  the  beneficent  reforms  introduced  by  Wesley 

"  Mt  good  Lord  Primate, — I  could  not  delay  giving  you  the  notification  of 
the  grief  and  concern  with  which  my  breast  was  affected  at  receiving  authentic 
information  that  routs  had  made  their  way  into  your  palace.  At  the  same  time, 
I  must  signify  to  you  my  sentiments  on  this  subject,  which  hold  these  levities 
and  vain  dissipations  as  utterly  inexpedient,  if  not  unlawful,  to  pass  in  a  resi- 
dence for  many  centuries  devoted  to  divine  studies,  religious  retirement,  and 
the  extensive  exercise  of  charity  and  benevolence ;  I  add,  in  a  place  where  so 
many  of  your  predecessors  have  led  their  lives  in  such  sanctity  as  has  thrown 
lustre  on  the  pure  religion  they  professed,  and  adorned.  From  the  dissatisfac- 
tion with  which  you  must  perceive  I  behold  these  improprieties,  not  to  speak  in 
harsher  terms,  and  in  still  more  pious  principles,  I  trust  you  will  suppress  them 
immediately ;  so  that  I  may  not  have  occasion  to  show  any  further  marks  of  my 
displeasure,  or  to  interpose  in  a  different  manner.  May  God  take  your  grace 
into  his  almighty  protection  !    I  remain,  my  lord  primate,  your  gracious  friend. 

"G.  R." 


LIFE  AND   REIGN    OF   GEORGE   THE   THIRD.  321 

and  Whitefield ;  the  monuments  of  whose  innovating  zeal  remain 
until  this  day,  and  will  be  coeval  with  the  duration  of  the 
British  empire. 

Having  thus  concluded  our  survey  of  the  events  of  the  reign 
of  George  III.,  we  may  sum  up  the  review  by  saying,  that  this 
monarch  exhibited  many  serious  defects  of  character ;  that  he 
was  narrow-minded-,  prejudiced,  and  obstinate  beyond  measure  ; 
that  this  peculiarity  led  him  sometimes  to  adhere  to  ill-advised 
measures  with  a  perseverance  and  pertinacity  which  injured  his 
popularity,  sometimes  even  endangered  his  throne,  and  cursed 
his  subjects ;  but  that,  on  the  other  hand,  he  possessed  some  very 
great  merits,  more  of  the  heart  than  of  the  head ;  that  he  was 
ever  disposed  to  govern  his  dominions  in  accordance  with  consti- 
tutional law,  and  while  he  asserted  the  full  extent  of  his  prerog- 
atives, never  wishing  to  transcend  them ;  that  he  was  virtuous 
in  an  age  of  prevalent  vice  ;  that  he  was  pious  and  devout  at  a 
period  when  even  priests  and  bishops  threw  scandal  on  their  pro- 
fession by  their  worldliness  and  profligacy  ;  and  that  generally, 
it  was  his  conscientious  desire,  but  not  always  his  realized  end, 
to  act  with  honesty,  consistency  and  justice. 


14* 


* 


I 


PAKT  IV. 

LIFE  AND   REIGN  OF   GEORGE   TEE  FOURTH. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Birth  of  George  IV. — Congratulations  on  tlie  Event — His  Early  Education — His  Talents 
— His  Disposition — His  Connection  with  Miss  Darby — Her  History — Frantic  Ad- 
miration of  the  Prince — Incidents  of  their  Attachment — The  Prince  removes  to 
Carlton  House — His  Peculiar  Manner  of  Making  Love — His  Connection  with  Mrs. 
Crouch — He  becomes  the  Admirer  of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert — Her  Origin  and  History — 
Her  Extraordinary  Beauty — She  is  privately  Married  to  the  Prince — Their  Resi- 
dence together — Unprincipled  denial  of  their  Marriage  in  Parliament  by  orders  of 
the  Prince — Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  Indignation  at  his  Perfidy — Immease  Debts  of  tho 
Prince — ^They  are  paid  by  an  Appropriation  of  Parliament. 

George,  Prince  of  Wales,  afterward  George  IV.,  was  born  on 
the  r2th  of  August,  1762.  Tlie  great  officers  of  state  were  pres- 
ent, according  to  the  established  etiquette  of  courts,  when  an  heir 
to  the  throne  appeared.  Immediately  after  the  birth  the  pro- 
pitious event  was  amiounced  to  the  uimates  of  the  palace.  The 
multitude  who  then  thronged  all  the  avenues  to  St,  James's,  eager 
with  expectation,  received  the  news  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm  ; 
and  in  an  hour  it  flew  over  the  whole  capital,  and  travelled  with 
the  rapidity  of  the  wind  to  the  extremities  of  the  island.  The 
popularity  of  George  III.,  which  had  for  some  months  been 
strangely  on  the  wane,  was  immensely  increased,  and  general 
congratulation  gave  expression  to  the  universal  joy ;  which  was 
increased  by  the  significant  accident  that  the  heir  apparent  first 
saw  the  light  on  the  anniversary  of  the  accession  of  the  House  of 
Hanover  to  the  British  sceptre.    Before  the  nation  were  delivered 


324  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUH   GEORGES. 

from  this  prince,  they  had  ample  time  and  reason  to  moderate 
the  ardor  of  their  felicitations  at  his  advent.* 

Innumerable  letters  and  speeches  of  congratulation  were  ad- 
dressed to  the  father  of  the  august  child,  by  all  the  corporations 
in  the  kingdom,  which  were  filled  with  the  rhapsodic  flattery  and 
absurd  adulation  which  usually  characterize  such  productions. 
The  public  life  of  the  young  prince  began  at  a  very  early  age  ; 
for  when  only  three  years  old,  he  received  a  deputation  from  the 
Society  of  Ancient  Britons  on  St.  David's  Day.  In  the  same 
year  he  was  invested  with  the  Order  of  the  Garter. 

In  1771  the  education  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  began.  He 
was  placed  under  the  control  of  Lord  Holdernesse  as  governor, 
Dr.  Markham  as  preceptor,  and  Cyril  Jackson  as  sub-preceptor. 
Markham  was  at  that  time  at  the  head  of  the  celebrated  School 
at  Westminster.  His  first  inquiry  of  the  king  when  he  accepted 
his  office  as  tutor  to  the  prince  was,  "  How  would  your  Majesty 
have  him  treated  1 "  George  III.  answered,  "  Like  the  sons  of  any 
private  English  gentleman.  If  he  deserves  it,  let  him  be  flogged, 
just  as  you  used  to  do  at  Westminster."  This  order  was  obeyed 
to  the  letter,  and  the  princely  back  of  the  young  student  was 
made  to  smart  more  than  once  by  the  energetic  and  conscientious 
discipline  of  the  tutor.  But  after  the  lapse  of  some  time  the  gov- 
ernor and  preceptors  of  the  prince  resigned,  in  consequence  of 
the  adverse  influence  exerted  by  the  paramour  and  favorite  of 
the  Dowager  Princess  of  Wales  ;  whose  purpose  was  to  instil 
into  the  mind  of  the  child  more  absolute  and  conservative 
ideas  than  accorded  with  the  will  of  the  king  and  his  most 

*  The  infant  was  created  Prince  of  Wales  a  few  days  after  his  birth ;  for  the 
eldest  son  of  the  British  monarch  does  not  possess  that  title  by  inheritance  but 
by  creation.  This  ancient  title  was  one  of  the  trophies  connected  with  the  con- 
quest of  Llewellyn,  and  was  first  conferred  by  the  first  Edward  upon  his  eldest 
son  and  heir,  in  1284,  with  the  usual  ceremonies  of  investiture  by  cap,  coronet, 
verge  and  ring.  The  eldest  son  of  the  king  becomes,  by  inheritance,  Steward 
of  Scotland,  Duke  of  Eothsay,  Earl  of  Carrick,  and  Baron  of  Renfrew.  These 
titles  belonged,  before  the  union  of  England  and  Scotland,  to  the  heir  apparent 
of  the  latter  kingdom.  The  Prince  of  \Yales  is  born  Duke  of  Cornwall,  and 
possessor  of  the  revenues  of  that  duchy.  Hume's  History  of  England,  Vol.  11., 
p.  Ul. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH.  325 

trusted  advisers.  The  Duke  of  Montague  was  then  appointed 
governor  of  tlic  prince  ;  Bishop  Ilurd  and  the  Rev,  Mr.  Arnold, 
preceptor  and  sub-preceptor.  The  Bishop  was  a  man  of  feeble 
character,  who  permitted  his  pupil  to  study  and  to  do  whatever 
he  pleased.  On  one  occasion  he  attempted  to  administer  much 
needed  discipline  after  tlie  manner  of  Dr.  Markham.  But  the 
prince  and  his  brother  the  Duke  of  York,  who  was  also  a  pupil 
of  the  Bishop,  conspired  together,  and  by  a  vigorous  and  united 
coup-de-main  wrested  the  rod  from  his  grasp,  turned  on  him,  and 
laid  it  upon  his  own  back  so  effectively  that  bodily  punishment 
was  never  afterward  attempted.*  But  the  education  of  the  heir 
apparent  was  accurate  and  thorough.  Few  princes  attained  the 
same  degree  of  familiarity  with  classical  learning,  or  the  same 
extent  of  proficiency  in  mathematical  and  natural  sciences.  On 
one  occasion,  at  a  much  later  period,  he  quoted  half  a  page  of 
Homer's  Iliad  in  the  original,  correctly  and  without  premeditar 
tion ;  and  he  understood  Latin,  French,  and  German  with  the  far 
cility  of  a  mother  tongue.  These  accomplishments  were  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  complete  the  character  of  the  "  first  Gentle- 
man in  Europe,"  to  which  dignity  he  always  aspired,  and  which 
he  undoubtedlv  attained. 

In  1791,  when  at  the  age  of  nineteenj.  the  prince  was  released 
from  the  control  of  his  instructors.  He  was  one  of  the  handsom- 
est and  most  graceful  youths  to  be  found  in  the  kingdom.  He 
was  tall,  vigorous  and  well  proportioned.  His  figure  possessed 
a  combination  of  beauty,  intelligence  and  good  health,  which 
was  highly  attractive  and  pleasing ;  and  it  may  readily  be  sup- 
posed that  his  exalted  rank,  and  his  brilliant  prospects  as  the 
heir  apparent  to  one  of  the  greatest  monarchies  on  the  globe, 
surrounded  him  with  flatterers,  temptations  and  seductions  of- 
every  imaginable  description.  In  due  time  the  subject  of  his 
separate  provision  was  brought  before  Parliament,  and  after  con- 
siderable discussion,  fifty  thousand  pounds  were  voted  him  as 
an  income,  and  one  hundred  thousand  for  an  outfit.  Thus  amply 
provided  with  means,  the  young  man,  whose  passions  were  of 

*  See  Croly's  Life  and  Tim^  of  George  IV.,  p.  59. 


326  IIISTOEY   OF  THE  FOUR   GEOEGES. 

the  most  vehement  nature,  commenced  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able careers  recorded  in  the  checkered  annals  of  princes.  In 
three  short  years,  which  were  passed  in  the  whirlpool  of  London 
vice  and  sensual  pleasure,  his  ruin  was  completed.  He  plunged 
into  every  sort  of  dissipation ;  and  before  long  the  virtuous 
Queen  Charlotte,  his  mother,  was  astonished  and  horrified  at  the 
information  that  he  had  taken  Miss  Darby  or  Mrs.  Robinson, 
the  most  beautiful  actress  of  the  day,  as  his  acknowledged  mis- 
tress. 

This  young  lady  was  born  at  Bristol  in  1758,  and  would  have 
been  rich  had  not  her  father  wasted  his  large  fortune  in  an  insane 
speculation,  one  essential  ingredient  of  which  was  the  civilization 
of  the  Esquimaux  Indians.  She  had  been  a  pupil  of  Hannah 
More  ;  and  had  devoted  some  time  to  the  laborious  and  thank- 
less labors  of  an  instructress.  She  was  singularly  handsome,  and 
among  her  other  attractions,  she  was  a  most  graceful  dancer. 
By  some  accident  she  crossed  the  path  of  Garrick  ;  she  pleased  the 
modern  Roscius,  and  he  gave  her  some  instructions  in  the  dra- 
matic art.  Her  first  appearance  was  under  his  auspices,  at  the 
Covent  Garden  Theatre,  in  the  character  of  Cordelia.  In  her  six- 
teenth year  she  married  Mr.  Robinson,  a  clerk  in  an  attorney's 
office,  who  possessed  a 'handsome  fortune.  But  this  was  soon 
wasted  by  extravagance  and  mismanagement.  The  husband  was 
arrested  for  debt,  and  his  wife  spent  fifteen  months  with  him 
in  prison.  At  length  the  stern  demands  of  necessity  again  drove 
her  to  the  stage.  Her  great  beauty  and  her  considerable  talents 
soon  rendered  her  the  favorite  actress  of  the  day.  During  some 
time  she  permitted  her  husband  to  live  in  luxury  on  the  earnings 
of  her  labors ;  and  refused  many  offers  from  opulent  and  princely 
admirers  on  condition  that  she  would  separate  from  him.  All 
these  she  refused,  until  in  December,  1779,  the  young  Prince  of 
Wales  first  saw  her.  She  played  the  part  of  Perdita,  in  the 
Winter's  Tale,  on  that  occasion,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
royal  family.  Her  appearance  and  manner  are  represented  as 
having  been  bewitching ;  and  the  young  prince  became  frantic- 
ally enamored  of  her.    He  sent  a  note  to  the  fair  charmer,  signed 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   FOUETII,  327 

Florizel,  by  the  hand  of  the  Earl  of  Essex,  containing  the  most 
rapturous  flatteries ;  which  was  delivered  her  the  moment  she 
reached  her  dressing  room.  Sp  brilliant  a  conquest  it  was 
scarcely  in  the  heart  of  woman  to  refuse.  An  interview  was 
contrived  between  them  in  the  gardens  of  the  palace  at  Kew,  by 
moonlight ;  of  which  interview  there  was  but  one  other  witness, 
the  brother  of  the  jDrince.  The  consequence,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  was  an  intrigue  of  some  duration,  of  intense  devotion 
on  the  part  of  the  lovers,  and  of  considerable  scandal  on  the  side 
of  the  public.  Among  other  acts  of  folly  the  prince  gave  the 
young  lady  a  bond  for  twenty  thousand  pounds,  to  be  paid  when 
he  came  of  age.  But  when  that  period  arrived  the  ardor  of  the 
lover  had  cooled,  other  flames  consumed  his  inflammable  and  incon- 
stant breast,  and  he  refused  to  liquidate  the  sum  nominated  in  the 
bond.  The  lady  flew  into  paroxysms  of  rage  and  despair  ;  and 
to  avoid  further  disgrace  and  exposure,  an  annuity  of  five  hun- 
dred pounds  a  year  was  eventually  settled  upon  her.  With  this 
sum  she  retired  to  Paris,  lived  in  some  splendor  there,  and  even 
attracted  the  notice  of  Marie  Antoinette,  who  honored  her  with 
the  epithet  of  La  helle  Anglaise^  and  presented  her  with  a  purse 
knit  by  the  hand  of  the  daughter  of  the  Cajsars.  She  devoted 
some  of  her  time  to  literature,  and  produced  several  novels  and  ro- 
mances, all  of  which  now  quietly  slumber  in  oblivion.  She  sub- 
sequently undertook  to  superintend  the  poetical  department  of 
the  Morning  Post,  but  died  after  a  few  months,  in  1800.  Such 
was  the  history  of  the  first  notorious  connection  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales ;  which  was  but  the  beginning  of  a  long  series  of  similar 
offences,  which  continued  with  greater  or  less  publicity  until  an 
advanced  period  of  his  life. 

When  the  prince  received  his  separate  income  from  Parliament, 
in  1783,  he  took  possession  of  Carlton  House  as  his  residence. 
This  palace  had  been  the  abode  of  Frederic,  his  grand fiither.  It 
had  originally  been  built  in  1T09  by  Lord  Carlton,  and  had  been 
embellished  and  enlarged  at  various  subsequent  periods.  The 
prince  employed  the  architect  Holland  to  effect  other  changes  and 
improvements.     Ionic  screens,  Corinthian  porticoes,  and  various 


328  HISTOEY   OF   THE  FOTTR   GEOEGES. 

ornaments  were  added ;  and  an  air  of  great  luxury,  so  consonant 
with  the  tastes  of  the  possessor  at  that  time,  was  thrown  over 
the  whole.  In  1783  the  prince  first  took  his  seat  in  the  House 
of  Lords.  He  was  attended  on  this  occasion  by  the  Dukes  of 
Cumberland,  Portland  and  Eichmond,  and  was  regarded  as  the 
friend  and  patron,  from  the  day  of  his  entrance  into  Parliament, 
of  Fox,  Sheridan  and  the  opposition.  His  seat  in  the  house 
was,  however,  rarely  occupied.  More  attractive  pursuits  drew  him 
elsewhere.  He  hunted  the  phantom  pleasure  in  every  possible 
form,  and  squandered  immense  sums  of  money  in  his  pursuit 
of  it.  Gaming,  horse-racing,  and  every  imaginable  species  of  dis- 
sipation were  indulged  in  ;  and  soon  the  public  were  astonished 
and  amused  to  learn,  that  the  heir  apparent  supported  in  mag- 
nificent style  at  least  two  acknowledged  mistresses ;  and  that 
many  casual  and  temporary  attachments  claimed  and  received 
his  attention.  The  two  recognized  sultanas  were  Mrs.  Crouch, 
an  actress  of  beauty  and  talent,  and  the  well-kno^TO  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert. 

The  manner  and  demeanor  of  the  prince  in  his  intercourse 
with  women,  and  in  making  love,  were  so  peculiar  as  to  deserve 
narration.  He  became  silly  and  contemptible.  When  refused 
he  proclaimed  himself  to  be  in  despair,  and  wept  in  the  most 
ridiculous  and  farcical  manner,  rolling  on  the  floor,  striking  his 
forehead,  tearing  his  hair,  and  using  other  excesses  of  the  same 
description.  When  he  first  declared  his  passion  to  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert,  and  was  courteously  repelled,  he  pretended  to  go  frantic, 
swore  that  he  would  abandon  the  country,  that  he  would  renounce 
the  succession,  that  he  would  sell  every  thing  and  fly  to  America. 
To  get  rid  of  his  absurdities  and  importunities,  Mrs.  Fitzherbert 
fled  to  the  continent.  After  a  short  absence  she  returned.  The 
desperate  passion  of  her  lover  had  lost  none  of  its  intensity.  He 
again  did  his  best  to  win  her  favor.  To  render  his  person  more 
interesting  and  attractive  he  phlebotomized  himself;  and  then 
asserted  that  the  pangs  of  an  unquenchable  and  unrequited  pas- 
sion had  made  him  pale  and  thin.    At  length,  when  he  found  that 

*  See  Doran'a  Queens  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  87. 


LIFE  AOT)  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FOURTH.      329 

nothing  else  would  influence  the  really  attractive  and  beautiful 
woman  of  whom  he  was  so  desperately  enamored,  he  proposed 
to  marry  her  secretly,  though  he  well  knew  that  as  Mrs.  Fitzher- 
bert  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  such  a  marriage  was  illegal  accord- 
ing to  one  of  the  statutes  of  the  realm  ;  and  also  because  the 
union  would  take  place,  if  at  all,  without  the  king's  consent,  and 
before  the  prince  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five.  The  lady, 
it  appears,  was  not  influenced  by  any  such  scruples,  and  she 
finally  consented  to  become  the  morganitic  wife  of  her  enamored 
and  frantic  admirer.  The  ceremony  was  performed  secretly  by 
a  clergyman  of  the  Established  Church,  whose  name,  and  those 
of  two  attending  witnesses,  were  attached  to  the  certificate  which 
still  remains  in  the  possession  of  the  lady's  family. 

Mrs.  Fitzherbert  was  the  daughter  of  William  Smythe  of 
Tonge  Castle.  Her  family  were  connected  with  the  nobility,  and 
were  all  highly  esteemed.  When  very  young  she  married  Mr. 
Weld,  of  Lulworth  Castle.  After  his  death  she  was  united  to 
Fitzherbert  of  Swinnerton,  who  died  in  1780.  She  was  educated 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  Her  reputation  was  unblemished 
until  her  connection  with  the  prince  began.  She  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  women  of  her  time.  Her  appearance  was  majes- 
tic, and  her  form  and  features  were  faultless.  She  retained  her 
hold  on  the  affections  of  her  unprincipled  and  worthless  lover 
longer  than  any  other  woman  ;  and  he  always  treated  her,  even 
after  their  separation,  with  courtesy  and  respect.  After  the  sub- 
sequent marriage  of  the  prince  to  the  unfortunate  Caroline  of 
Brunswick,  a  pension  of  six  thousand  pounds  a  year  was  settled 
on  her ;  and  she  survived  to  enjoy  it  long  after  the  death  of  the 
prince,  until  she  had  nearly  reached  the  age  of  eighty  years. 
Even  after  her  husband  had  carried  on  a  notorious  and  discrace- 
ful  intrigue  with  Lady  Jersey,  he  still  regarded  "  Mrs.  Prince," 
as  she  was  usually  called,  with  the  greatest  deference  ;  and  spoke 
of  her  in  terms  very  different  from  those  which  he  applied  to  all 
the  other  women,  whose  name  indeed  was  legion,  with  whom  he 
had  been  connected.* 

*  See  Diary  Elxistrative  of  the   Court  of  George  IV. ;  with  Letters  of 


.330  niSTOEY   OF  THE  FOUE   GEOEGES. 

The  expensive  habits  of  living  in  which  the  prince  indulged, 
soon  involved  him  deeply  in  debt.     In  1787,  notwithstanding  the 
liberal  allowance  made  by  Parliament  for  his  support,  his  obliga- 
tions amounted  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds.     At  a 
later  period,  in  1792,  they  reached  the  prodigious  sum  of  four 
hundred  thousand  pounds.     The  subject  became  one  of  public 
scandal  and  scrutiny.     Carlton  House  was  known  to  be  the  con- 
tinual scene  of  the  most  lavish  and  reckless  luxury.     In  April, 
1787,  the  matter  of  the  prince's  debts  was  for  the  first  time  in- 
troduced into  Parliament.     The  Opposition  contended  that  his 
income  should  be  increased  and  the  accumulated  debts  paid. 
The  minister,  Mr.  Pitt,  responded  that  he  had  received  no  com- 
mands from  the  king  on  the  subject.     In  the  course  of  the  subse- 
quent debate,  the  minister  made  some  allusion  to  the  marriage 
which,  it  was  commonly  rumored,  had  taken  place  between  the 
prince  and  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  as  being  one  of  the  guilty  and  cen- 
surable causes  of  the  prince's  embarrassments.     Mr.  Fox  re- 
sponded by  denying  in  the  most  positive  mamier,  and  as  by 
authority  from  the  prince  himself,  that  any  marriage  had  taken 
place  between  him  and  the  lady  in  question.     This  denial  was 
supported  by  Sheridan  and  other  leading  members  of  the  Oppo- 
sition.    Yet  these  assertions  could  not  overturn  the  reality  of 
truth  ;  for  the  marriage  itself,  though  perhaps  illegal  and  invalid, 
had  actually  and  infallibly  taken  place.    After  the  discussion  had 
continued  for  several  days,  a  compromise  was  effected  between 
the  mmistry  and  the  friends  of  the  prince.     The  king  addressed 
a  message  to  Parliament,  in  which  having  set  forth  the  pecuniary 
difficulties  of  his  son,  he  proposed  that  the  sum  of  ten  thousand 
pounds  should  be  paid  yearly  out  of  the  civil  list,  in  addition  to 
the  fifty  thousand  already  allowed ;  and  that  his  existing  debts 
should  be  liquidated  by  an  appropriation.     The  Parliament  gen- 
erously concurred  in  the  royal  proposition,  and  suggested  that 
twenty  thousand  pounds  should  be  granted  in  addition,  to  pay 
for  necessary  repairs  on  Carlton  House.     Thus,  for  a  time  at 

Queen,  Caroline,  Princess  Charlotte,  d:c.     London :   4  vols.,  1839.    Vol.  iii., 
p.  174. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH.  331 

least,  the  self-caused  embarrassments  of  this  lavish  voluptuary 
were  removed.* 

*  The  following  statement  of  the  private  afifairs  of  the  prince  was  officially 
presented  to  Parliament  on  this  occasion  : 

Delti. 

Bonds  and  debts ...  £13,000 

Purchase  of  houses 4,000 

Expenses  of  Carlton  House 63,000 

Tradesmen's  bills 90,804 

£160,804 
Expenditure  from  July,  1783,  to  July,  1786. 

Household,  &c £29,270 

Privy  purse 16,050 

Payments  made  by  Col.  Hotham,  particulars  delivered  in  to  his 

Majesty  .        .        .        .      ■ 37,203 

Other  extraordinaries 11,406 

£93,636 

Salaries 54,734 

Stables 37,919 

Mr.  Kobinson's 7,059 

£193,643 


CHAPTEE   II. 


Kemoval  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Brighton — His  Attachment  to  Mrs.  Fitzherbert— 
His  Extravagance — His  Marriage  proposed  to  a  German  Princess — Alleged  Inva- 
lidity of  his  Marriage  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert— His  Match  with  Caroline  of  Bruns- 
wick Consummated — Her  Character  and  Appearance — Arrival  of  the  Princess  in 
England— Her  first  Interview  with  her  future  Husband— Its  Unhappy  Eesult— The 
Marriage  Ceremony— Disgraceful  Conduct  of  the  Bridegroom — His  Eemoval  to 
Carlton  House — Liquidation  of  the  enormous  Debts  of  the  Prince— Domestic  Quar- 
rels between  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales— Birth  of  the  Princess  Charlotte — 
Final  Separation  of  her  Parents. 


In  1787  the  prince  erected  his  celebrated  country  residence  at 
Brighton,  At  that  period  this  spot  was  nothing  more  than  an 
obscure  fishing  village  ;  but  the  situation  was  magnificent,  com- 
manding a  full  view  of  the  rolling  ocean,  being  within  half  a  day's 
rapid  drive  from  London,  and  possessing  all  the  advantages  of  a 
fertile  and  pleasing  circumjacent  country.  The  location  was  also 
agreeable  to  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  and  of  this  lady  the  prince  at 
that  time  was  intensely  enamored.  Whatever  she  desired  was 
attained,  even  if  heaven  and  earth  were  moved  to  accomplish  it. 
The  prince  therefore  bought  a  few  acres  and  began  to  build.  At 
first  he  intended  to  construct  only  a  cottage,  surrounded  by 
shrubbery.  This  was  soon  found  to  be  inadequate  to  the  wishes 
of  the  imperial  Sultana,  and  numerous  additions  were  therefore 
made  from  time  to  time.  These  finally  culminated  in  the  edifice 
known  as  the  Pavilion,  exhibiting  the  peculiar  and  heterogeneous 
style  of  architecture  which  has  excited  the  critical  humor  of  hun- 
dreds of  tourists.  In  the  comparative  seclusion  of  this  peaceful 
abode,  the  prince,  by  his  own  confession,  spent  some  of  the  hap- 
piest years  of  his  life.      The  society  which  graced  the  sumptuous 


LIFE   AND   REIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  FOrRTH.  333 

saloons  of  the  Pavilion  was  among  the  most  intellectual  and  dis- 
tinguished which  Europe  afforded.  Here  were  frequently  found 
such  men  as  Fox,  Sheridan,  Erskine,  Hare  and  Fitzpatrick,  the 
Duchess  of  Devonshire,  the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  Curran,  the  wit- 
tiest of  Irishmen,  the  chivalrous  Ponsonby,  and  many  other 
celebrities  of  the  day  were  habitual  visitors  there  ;  while  no  dis- 
tinguished foreigner  who  came  to  England  failed  to  pay  his  re- 
spects to  the  splendid  and  accomplished  heir  apparent  of  the 
Empire.  The  intellectual  feasts  which  such  society  afforded,  no 
less  than  the  exquisite  entertainment  of  a  more  gross  and  sensual 
nature  which  characterized  the  Pavilion,  rendered  the  privilege 
of  an  introduction  there  highly  prized  and  earnestly  coveted 
by  all  classes,  not  excepting  the  greatest  and  noblest  in  the 
realm. 

During  some  years  the  prince  continued  to  live  in  compara- 
tive repose  and  retirement  with  the  attractive  and  congenial 
partner  of  his  existence,  either  at  Brighton  or  at  Carlton  House. 
When  the  first  serious  attack  of  insanity  overturned  for  a  time 
the  intellect  of  his  father,  and  the  Regency  question  became  one 
of  paramount  prominence  and  importance,  he  was  drawn  from 
his  peaceful  seclusion  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  contest  which 
ensued  between  his  friends  and  the  partisans  of  the  demented 
monarch.  The  result  of  that  contest  was  highly  disagreeable  to 
the  prince  ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  utmost  endeavors  of  his  con- 
federates and  supporters  in  Parliament,  he  was  obliged  to  be  con. 
tent  with  an  arrangement  by  which,  in  case  of  the  future  repeated 
insanity  of  the  monarch,  he  would  be  invested  with  a  regency 
shorn  of  its  powers,  hampered  in  its  functions,  and  restricted  in 
its  prerogatives.  The  consequence  was,  that  the  prince  abandoned 
politics  in  disgust,  and  gave  himself  up  more  completely  to  every 
vicious  and  expensive  indulgence.  Several  years  thus  spent, 
again  involved  him  in  overwhelming  pecuniary  embarrassments. 
His  creditors  soon  became  importunate  for  payment.  The  ag- 
gregate of  these  obligations  amounted  to  the  prodigious  sum  of 
six  hundred  thousand  pounds.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  both 
for  the  safety  of  the  princely  debtor,  and  for  the  credit  and  dig- 


334       msTOET  OF  the  tour  geoeges. 

nity  of  the  royal  family,  that  some  provision  should  be  made  to 
liquidate  this  enormous  load  of  indebtedness,  and  also  that  some 
decisive  steps  should  be  taken,  by  means  of  which  a  similar 
dilemma  might  be  avoided  in  future. 

It  was  at  this  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  prince,  that  his 
father  conceived  the  idea  of  his  marriage,  and  devised  the  most 
absurd  and  unfortunate  match  which  has  ever  occurred  in  the 
history  of  royal  miseries  and  infamies.  The  young  lady  whom 
the  king  proposed  as  a  wife  to  his  already  mated  and  enamored 
son,  was  the  Princess  Caroline  Amelia  Elizabeth,  the  daughter 
of  his  brother-in-law,  the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Brunswick.  She 
was  born  in  1768,  and  was  therefore  six  years  younger  than  her 
intended  husband.  In  every  other  respect  except  the  matter  of 
age  alone,  she  was  wholly  unfit  for  the  proposed  alliance.  Yet 
the  king  promised  that,  if  his  son  would  marry  his  cousin,  his 
debts  should  be  paid,  and  he  be  furnished  with  a  more  liberal  and 
extensive  establishm'ent.  To  this  proposal  the  prince  at  length 
agreed,  harassed  and  annoyed,  as  he  constantly  was,  by  the  im- 
portunities of  his  creditors,  and  the  indignities  to  which  he  was 
frequently  subjected.  But  before  we  narrate  the  events  connect- 
ed with  this  marriage,  it  will  be  proper  to  dispose  of  the  lady 
who  already  claimed  to  possess  the  hand  as  well  as  the  heart  of 
the  illustrious  bridegroom. 

The  prince  had  overcome  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  repugnance  to 
him  in  the  first  instance  by  a  contemptible  trick.  Edward 
Bouverie,  his  friend,  arrived  at  her  residence  in  great  haste  and 
consternation,  declaring  that  he  had  stabbed  himself,  and  that  her 
presence  alone  could  save  his  life.  The  young  widow  imme- 
diately hastened  to  his  bedside,  to  rescue  the  hope  of  a  great  nation 
from  self-murder.  When  she  arrived  she  found  him  pale  and 
covered  with  blood ;  and  he  solemnly  declared,  that  unless  she 
promised  to  become  his  wife,  he  would  destroy  himself.  She 
could  resist  no  longer  ;  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  furnished  the 
ring ;  and  the  frantic  lover  placed  it  upon  her  fliir  finger,  as  a 
sacred  pledge  of  marriage.  The  wounding  in  this  case  was 
said  to  be  really  genuine;   and   Mrs.  Eitzherbert   frequently 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   FOURTn.  335 

declared  to  her  friends  subsequently,  that  she  often  saw  the  mark 
of  it.  Nevertheless  she  became  terrified  at  the  act  which  she 
had  committed,  and  fled  to  the  continent.  But  her  lover  only 
became  more  desperate,  and  his  couriers  rapidly  traversed 
France,  Switzerland,  and  Holland,  bearing  letter  after  letter  filled 
with  the  most  rhapsodic  declarations  of  adoration  and  devotion. 
These  couriers  were  so  frequent,  and  so  urgent  in  their  pace,  that 
they  excited  the  suspicion  of  the  French  government,  as  if  they 
carried  missions  pregnant  with  the  future  destinies  of  empires  ; 
and  three  of  them  were  arrested.  But  soon  after,  when  the  real 
nature  of  their  commission  was  ascertained,  they  were  discharged 
with  a  general  roar  of  laughter  from  the  guard  house.  When  tlie 
lady  returned  to  England,  the  marriage  ceremony  already  alluded 
to,  took  place.  The  uncle  of  the  bi-ide,  Henry  Errington,  and  her 
brother,  John  Smythe,  were  present.  The  certificate  of  marriage 
was  written  in  the  hand  of  the  prince  himself,  and  signed  by  him 
and  by  the  lady.  The  names  of  the  witnesses  were  added,  but 
they  were  subsequently  removed,  to  avert  from  their  heads  any 
possible  punishment.  The  performance  of  the  ceremony  by  a 
Protestant  clergyman  did  not  render  it  less  valid  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  bride ;  because  the  presence  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
priest,  according  to  the  theory  of  the  Romish  Church,  would  not 
have  increased  its  validity  ;  and  the  fact  that  a  minister  of  the 
church  established  by  law  in  England  officiated,  may  have  been 
regarded  by  her  as  an  additional  reason  why  she  should  esteem 
the  ceremony  binding  and  efiicacious  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
realm. 

And  this  was  the  view  generally  taken  of  the  matter  by  the 
public  at  that  day.  Ilorne  Tooke  spoke  of  the  lady  as  "  legally, 
really,  worthily,  and  happily  for  the  country,  Her  Royal  High- 
ness the  Princess  of  Wales."  The  statute  which  forbade  the  heir 
apparent  (;f  the  British  Empire  to  marry  a  Roman  Catholic,  or 
a  subject,  was  regarded  as  a  nullity,  morally  speaking,  by  the 
vast  majority  of  the  populace ;  and  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  was  by  them 
esteemed  as  the  lawful  wife  of  the  prince.  The  first  coolness 
which  arose  between  the  lovers  was  produced  by  his  pecuniary 


336  HISTOEY   OF   THE  FOUK   GEORGES. 

embarrassments.  But  they  were  soon  reconciled ;  and,  as  is  uusal 
in  such  cases,  they  became  more  devoted  than  before.  In  the 
course  of  time,  however,  the  malignant  star  of  the  handsome  and 
intriguing  .Lady  Jersey  crossed  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  path ;  and 
soon  she  discovered  that  her  talented  rival  had  succeeded  in 
making  an  impression  on  her  lover's  heart.  Until  this  period 
she  had  ahvays  received  the  greatest  kindness  and  courtesy  from 
the  royal  family  ;  and  the  Duke  of  York  was  her  especial  friend. 
When  the  ascendency  of  Lady  Jersey  over  the  mind  of  the  prince 
had  attained  a  considerable  degree  of  absoluteness,  the  marriage 
with  Caroline  of  Brunswick  was  proposed  and  consummated. 
After  the  occurrence  of  this  event,  Mrs.  Ktzherbert  separated 
herself  entirely  from  her  supposed  husband.  When  the  quarrel 
commenced  between  the  prince  and  princess,  the  former  desired  to 
renew  his  intercourse  secretly  with  his  first  wife ;  but  she  peremp- 
torily repelled  him.  He  commenced  a  desperate  pursuit  after  her, 
and  placed  her  in  a  most  delicate  situation.  In  this  dilemma  she 
had  recourse  to  the  advice  of  the  highest  authority  in  the  Catho- 
lic Church.  The  Eev.  Mr.  Nassau  was  sent  to  Rome  to  request 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Father  in  the  matter  ;  and  he  returned 
with  a  Brief  in  which  the  Pope  gave  an  answer  favorable  to  the 
suit  of  the  prince,  alleging  that  the  marriage  with  the  Princess 
of  Brmiswick  was  null  and  void,  in  consequence  of  her  own  prior 
and  indefeasible  claims.  Assured  by  this  supreme  authority,  she 
again  permitted  the  society  of  her  impassioned  admirer,  and  con- 
tinued to  reside  with  him  during  eight  years,  which  she  always 
termed  the  happiest  of  their  union.  She  was  accustomed  to  de- 
clare that  they  were  very  poor,  but  very  merry  ;  that  sometimes 
they  could  not  muster  five  pounds  between  them  ;  but  that  the 
pleasure  of  each  other's  society  made  ample  amends  for  the 
embarrassments  which  they  were  compelled  to  endure. 

But  it  was  not  in  the  nature  of  the  prince  to  remain  faithful 
to  any  human  being  in  any  relation.  The  beautiful  ^Marchioness 
of  Hertford  at  length  supplanted  Mrs.  Fitzherbfert  in  the  affec- 
tions of  her  volatile  lover.  Yet  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
this  lady,  and  even  others,  attracted  the  amorous  regard  of  this 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE   FOURTH.  337 

voluptuous  and  unprincipled  man  at  different  periods  of  his  sub- 
sequent life,  they  never  wholly  effaced  his  kindly  rememl^rance 
and  regard  for  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  She  seemed  to  be,  till  the 
close  of  his  life,  the  woman  with  whom  his  most  tender  and 
pleasing  recollections  were  associated.  When  he  lay  on  his 
death-bed,  she  addressed  him  a  letter  full  of  affection,  by  which 
his  callous  heart  was  deeply  impressed.  He  retained  her  min- 
iature during  his  whole  lifetime ;  it  was  attached  to  his  person 
when  he  expired  ;  and  when  at  last  that  once  graceful  and  stately 
form  was  wrapped  in  cerecloth,  and  arrayed  in  the  gorgeous 
mockery  of  funereal  trappings  for  the  tomb,  the  Bishop  of  Wor- 
cester, who  was  present,  saw  that  miniature  still  fastened  around 
the  neck  of  the  departed  king,  by  a  small  silver  chain ;  and  with  the 
corpse  it  descended  to  the  grave.*  After  the  accession  of  Wil- 
liam IV.  Mrs.  Fitzhei-bert  presented  herself  before  that  mon- 
arch ;  exhibited  to  him  the  evidences  of  her  marriage  with  the 
former  Prince  of  Wales ;  and  was  duly  authorized  by  him  to 
assume  the  royal  livery,  and  wear  the  weeds  of  the  widows  of  the 
sovereigns  of  England.  He  invited  her  to  visit  him  at  the  familiar 
palace  at  Brighton,  and  on  her  arrival  there,  handed  her  out  of 
her  carriage,  and  introduced  her  to  the  royal  family  as  one  of 
their  own  number.  At  a  subsequent  period  all  the  letters  and 
papers  which  related  to  the  connection  of  this  remarkable  woman 
with  the  prince,  were  by  her  destroyed ;  except  a  few  which  were 
deposited  for  safe  keeping  in  the  bank  of  the  Messrs.  Coutts,  and 
several  others  which  she  retained  in  her  own  possession.  The 
latter  were  her  mortgage  on  the  palace  at  Brighton  for  six  thou- 
sand pounds,  which  she  had  received  from  the  prince,  and  on  the 
interest  of  which  she  chiefly  subsisted  ;  the  certificate  of  her  mar- 
iage ;  f  a  letter  from  the  prince  when  king,  acknowledging  their 
relation  as  husband  and  wife ;  a  will  written  by  him  at  a  later 
period  of  his  life  ;  and  a  letter  of  the  clergyman  who  performed 

*  See  Memoirs  of  Mrs.  Fiizherlert ;  with  an,  Account  of  Tier  Marriage  with 
H.B.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterward  George  IV.  By  the  Eon.  CharUa  Lang- 
dale.    London :  Bentley. 

+  Dated  December  21st,  1785. 

15 


338  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOTJE   GE0EGE8. 

the  ceremony,  -with  her  own  memorandum  endorsed  upon  it. 
The  concluding  years  of  her  long  and  romantic  career  were  spent 
in  dignified  retirement  at  Brighton,  the  scene  of  her  happiest 
days,  and  at  that  place  her  life  terminated  in  1837.  Very  few 
incidents  connected  with  the  existence  of  George  IV.  place  his 
character  in  a  more  disgraceful  light,  or  indicate  more  clearly  the 
perfidy  of  his  heart,  and  his  total  want  of  moral  principle, 
than  his  treatment  of  this  remarkable  woman  whose  greatest 
error  seems  to  have  been,  that  she  loved  her  soi-disant  husband 
not  wisely  but  too  well. 

Although  George  III.  was  totally  unacquainted  with  the  per- 
sonal character  of  Caroline  of  Brunswick,  he  despatched  Lord 
]\Ialmesbury  to  the  court  of  her  father,  not  to  scrutinize  her  ap- 
pearance and  disposition,  and  report  the  result  of  his  observa- 
tions, but  to  make  an  immediate  and  positive  demand  of  her 
hand  in  marriage  for  the  Prince  of  Wales.  He  arrived  at  Bruns- 
wick in  November,  1794,  and  was  received  with  a  most  cordial 
welcome.  Being  introduced  to  the  Princess  Caroline,  he  found 
her  to  possess  a  pretty  face,  fine  eyes,  good  hair,  tolerable 
teeth,  and  a  well-proportioned  figure.  She  was  witty  and  spright- 
ly in  her  conversation ;  her  laugh  was  hearty  and  satirical ;  but 
her  manners  were  too  imdignified  and  free.*  Even  the  courtly 
and  gallant  diplomatist  could  not  fail  to  notice  that  the  princess 
exhibited  one  of  the  most  repulsive  weaknesses  of  which  women 
can  be  guilty.  She  was  not  addicted  to  superfluous  cleanliness  ; 
and  if  the  truth  must  be  known,  this  defect,  together  with  the 
results  which  naturally  and  inevitably  flowed  from  it,  were  the 
chief  causes  of  her  subsequent  misfortunes.  She  was  to  be  united 
to  one  of  the  most  fastidious  and  voluptuous  men  of  the  age ; 

*  A  few  specimens  of  her  girlish  wit  remain.  Being  asked  by  her  instructor 
in  natural  history  "  in  what  country  the  lion  is  to  be  found,"  she  replied  :  "  Well, 
you  may  find  him  in  the  heart  of  a  Brunswickcr."  Her  father  having  asked 
her,  when  twelve  years  old,  "  how  she  would  define  time  and  space,"  she  an- 
swered :  "  Space  is  in  the  mouth  of  Madame  von  L.,  and  time  is  in  her  face." 
A  woman  possessed  of  so  great  a  disposition  to  sarcasm  would  not  be  harmless 
or  inoffensive  in  such  a  melancholy  contest  as  afterward  ensued  between  herself 
and  her  husband. 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FOUETH.      339 

and  yet  she  was  one  of  the  least  endurable  of  women  to  such  a 
man.  Had  the  Prince  of  Wales  been  permitted  to  see  his  intend- 
ed bride  previous  to  the  ceremony,  no  power  on  earth  could 
have  induced  him  to  accept  her.  Had  the  Duke  of  York, 
when  visiting  the  Pi'ince  of  Brunswick  several  years  before, 
made  a  more  critical  examination  of  the  appearance  and  qualities 
of  the  princess  than  he  did,  he  would  never  have  recommended 
the  match,  or  have  been  the  means  of  bringing  it  eventu- 
ally to  a  completion.  The  representations  of  the  Duke  of  York 
seem  to  have  excited  the  curious  ardor  of  the  intended  bride- 
groom to  the  highest  pitch  ;  for  Lord  Malmesbury  was  followed 
to  Brunswick  by  Major  Hislop,  who  brought  with  him  a  portrait 
of  the  prince,  and  a  letter  to  the  former  vehemently  urging  him 
to  hasten  homeward  with  the  princess. 

Accordingly  Malmesbury  was  married  to  Caroline  vica- 
riously on  the  eighth  of  December,  1794.  Several  months  elapsed 
before  the  journey  to  England  was  commenced.  During  this 
interval  the  English'  envoy  endeavored  to  infuse  into  the  mind 
of  the  princess  more  correct  views  of  decorum  ;  for  of  this  mat- 
ter she  appeared  to  him  to  be  strangely  ignorant.  Her  father, 
the  old  Duke  of  Brunswick,  said  of  her,  perhaps  cruelly,  yet  en- 
igmatically :  "  She  is  no  fool ;  but  she  has  no  judgment."  Her 
greatest  fault  was  her  everlasting  loquacity.  Her  tongue  seemed 
never  to  repose ;  and  when  people  are  eternally  talking,  even 
the  wisest  must  needs  utter  a  vast  quantity  and  variety  of  non- 
sense. This  was  precisely  the  misfortune  and  the  error  of  Caro 
line  of  Brunswick.  Malmesbury  endeavored  in  vain,  in  his  fre- 
quent and  confidential  conversations  with  her,  to  correct  her 
conduct,  and  to  impress  upon  her  mind  the  conviction  that  the 
Princess  of  Wales  should  be  a  model  of  dignity  and  propriety 
He  counselled  her  to  avoid  familiarity  with  any  one,  and  to  have 
no  confidants.  She  promised  to  obey  his  advice,  and  instantly 
broke  her  promise  by  asking  him  questions  in  reference  to  Lady 
Jersey  and  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  of  whom  she  spoke  as  the  two  mis- 
tresses of  her  intended  husband.  Malmesbury  wisely  advised 
her  never  to  seem  conscious  of  the  existence  of  these  persons, 


340  HISTORY    OF   THE  FOIJE   GEOKGES. 

and  assured  her  that  appearances  of  jealousy  on  the  part  of  a 
wife  are  always  unpleasant,  generally  useless,  and  frequently  in- 
jurious to  the  injured  wife  in  the  highest  degree.  He  also  urged 
her  to  attend  divine  service  regularly,  and  to  seem  to  be,  if 
she  even  were  not,  devoutly  attached  to  religion  and  the  estab- 
lished church.  The  admonitions  which  the  subtle  diplomatist 
imparted  to  his  ward  might  be  fitly  condensed  into  a  single 
word,  and  a  single  precept ;  but  this  was  the  word  which, 
throughout  her  whole  life,  she  constantly  ignored,  and  the  pre- 
cept which  she  invariably  violated — be  prudent.  He  even 
thought  it  necessary  from  the  indications  of  frivolity  which 
he  observed  in  the  princess  to  caution  her  against  the  slightest 
disposition  to  flirt  with  the  handsome  courtiers  who  would  sur- 
round her  in  her  new  residence  ;  and  while  he  informed  her  that, 
by  the  laws  of  England,  the  penalty  of  death  was  inflicted  on  any 
man  who  dared  to  solicit  the  favors  of  a  Princess  of  Wales,  he 
added  with  prudent  boldness,  that  it  would  be  high  treason  in 
her  to  accede  to  any  such  approaches,  and  that  the  penalty  of 
high  treason  in  all  cases  was  death.  This  novel  and  startling  an- 
nouncement caused  the  princess  to  fall  into  a  profound  reverie ; 
after  which,  however,  her  usual  excessive  gaiety  returned. 

The  young  bride  left  Brunswick  on  the  29th  of  December, 
1795.  The  party  stopped  at  Hanover  on  their  way.  Several 
months  were  occupied  in  accomplishing  the  journey  to  England. 
Eather  singular  developments  were  made  to  Lord  Malmesbury 
during  this  interval  in  reference  to  the  personal  peculiarities  of 
the  future  Queen  of  England.  His  olfactories  convinced  him, 
in  spite  of  his  repugnance  to  such  a  conclusion,  that  the  princess 
was  very  careless  in  regard  to  her  person,  that  she  made  her 
toilette  with  excessive  haste,  that  she  rarely  paid  much  attention 
to  cleanliness,  and  that  she  was  e  en  offensive  from  this  neglect. 
This  discovery  was  a  stunning  blow  to  the  diplomatist,  who  well 
knew  the  fastidious  and  exquisite  taste  of  the  intended  bride- 
groom ;  and  he  anticipated  results  as  unpropitious  as  those  which 
actually  occurred. 

Caroline  of  Brunswick  arrived  at  Greenwich  on  the  4th  of 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.      341 

April,  1790,  The  news  of  her  arrival  rapidly  spread  through 
the  vicinity,  and  the  whole  populace  gave  utterance  to  their 
hearty  welcome.  In  a  short  time  the  royal  carriages  arrived  to 
convey  her  to  the  capital.  A  large  company  of  lords  and  ladies 
were  sent  to  escort  her,  and  among  the  latter  was  Lady  Jersey, 
the  crafty  and  malignant  star  of  the  princess's  future  destiny. 
Lady  Jersey  commenced  to  ridicule  her  dress,  appearance,  and 
manners  ;  and  began  a  series  of  persecutions  which  ended  only 
in  the  grave  of  the  unfortunate  woman  who  was  thus  unwillingly 
dragged  up  to  greatness  by  the  stupidity  of  George  III.  Having 
arrived  at  St.  James's  Palace,  the  royal  family  were  officially 
informed  of  her  presence.  The  Prince  of  Wales  immediately 
hastened  to  greet  his  bride  and  cousin  ;  and  this  was  the  begin- 
ning, the  opening  scene  of  that  melancholy,  disgusting,  and 
disgraceful  tragedy,  which  has  cast  such  eternal  infamy  over  the 
House  of  Hanover,  and  especially  upon  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
The  princess  had  not  been  allowed  leisure  to  pay  any  atten- 
tion to  her  person  or  her  toilette  after  her  long  and  tedious 
journey,  before  her  intended  husband  rushed  into  her  presence 
with  the  eager  curiosity  and  uncourteous  rudeness  of  an  over- 
grown boy.  Lord  Malmesbury  alone  was  the  witness  of  this 
first  interview.  He  instantly  introduced  the  princess  to  the  prince. 
She  then  attempted  to  kneel,  according  to  the  usual  etiquette ; 
but  the  prince  approaching,  prevented  her,  embraced  her,  and  in- 
stantly retired  to  a  remote  corner  of  the  room,  exclaiming  :  "  I 
am  not  well,  Harris,  get  me  a  glass  of  brandy."  The  astonished 
Malmesbury  was  confounded  at  this  singular  deportment,  and 
replied,  "  Sir,  had  you  not  better  have  a  glass  of  water  1  "  The 
prince,  apparently  much  oflended,  said,  "  No,  I  will  go  directly 
to  the  queen,"  and  then  rushed  from  the  apartment.  During 
this  scene,  the  princess  remained  standing,  and  in  amazement. 
At  length  she  exclaimed  to  the  attendant,  "  My  God,  does  the 
prince  always  behave  in  this  way  1  He  is  very  coarse,  and  not 
near  as  handsome  as  his  portrait."  Malmesbury  was  greatly 
perplexed,  and  stammered  out,  that  the  prince  was  naturally 
much  confused  at  this  first  interview,  and  that  she  must  excuse 


34r2  HISTORY   OF   THE   rOUR    GEORGES. 

his  rudeness ;  but  the  real  cause  of  the  catastrophe  ■which  thus 
atteuded  the  commencement  of  this  unpropitious  union,  was,  that 
the  nostrils  of  the  bridegroom  were  offended  beyond  endurance 
by  the  odor  which  proceeded  from  the  person  of  the  unwashed 
and  slovenly  princess. 

The  unfavorable  impression  already  produced  on  the  mind  of 
the  bridegroom,  was  soon  increased  by  the  deportment  of  the 
princess  at  the  royal  table.  She  affected  flij)pancy,  raillery,  and 
wit,  and  endeavored  to  irritate  Lady  Jersey,  the  mistress  of  her 
husband,  by  her  sarcastic  allusions.  Such  conduct  would  have 
been  at  all  times  indecorous,  but  so  soon  after  her  arrival  in 
England  it  was  doubly  improper.  The  prince  was  heartily  dis- 
gusted with  his  matrimonial  bargain ;  and  he  declared  to  Malmes- 
bury,  his  great  regret  that  he  had  not  been  permitted  to  see,  or 
at  least  to  know,  the  peculiarities  of  the  princess  before  her  ar- 
rival in  England.  The  truth  is,  that  her  defects  both  of  person 
and  character  were  of  so  trivial  and  so  remediable  a  nature, 
that  they  might  have  all  been  cured  and  removed,  and  the  union 
which  could  not  then  be  easily  dissolved,  might  have  been  made 
agreeable  and  propitious,  had  not  the  husband  himself  been  one 
of  the  most  worthless  and  contemptible  of  men.  He  possessed 
not  a  single  quality  which  enabled  him,  or  disposed  him,  to  exer- 
cise a  favorable  influence  upon  her  mind.  A  prudent  and  saga- 
cious partner  might  have  moulded  the  tastes  and  converted  the 
character  of  the  princess  to  admirable  qualities  and  uses ;  but  he 
was  himself  a  volatile  and  unprincipled  voluj)tuary,  who  scarcely, 
during  his  whole  existence,  conceived  a  useful  thought  or  accom- 
plished a  desirable  end. 

The  ceremony  of  this  most  unfortunate  marriage  in  modern 
times  was  performed  on  the  8th  of  April,  1795,  in  the  Eoyal 
Chapel  of  the  palace  of  St  James.  Nothing  which  has  ever 
been  described  in  the  exaggerated  pages  of  romance,  or  in  the 
sterner  realities  of  the  history  of  princes,  equals  the  disgraceful 
and  lamentable  scenes  which  took  place  on  this  occasion,  the 
real  importance  of  which  to  the  future  happiness  of  millions 
cannot  well  be  estimated.     Then  a  connection  was  to  be  formed 


LIFE   AJiTD   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   FOUKTH.  34:3 

Avhich  -svould  mould  in  future  years  by  the  direct  and  indirect  in- 
fluence -which  would  inevitably  proceed  from  it,  the  fate  of  a  vast 
empire,  the  future  relations  of  princes  and  kingdoms,  and  all  the 
various  interests  of  countless  multitudes  of  human  beings.  As- 
suredly on  such  an  occasion,  the  chief  actor  would  entertain  some 
appreciation  of  its  importance ;  and  would  deport  himself  in  some 
degree  worthy  of  the  responsibilities  which  he  assumed.  The 
fact  was  widely  different.  The  bridal  party  assembled  in  the 
apartments  of  the  queen,  and  proceeded  thence  to  the  royal 
chapel,  which  was  crowded.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by 
Dr.  Moore,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury ;  but  the  scene  was 
most  repulsive.  The  bridegroom  was  so  completely  intoxi- 
cated, as  to  be  unable  to  stand.  During  the  ceremony  he  was 
supported  on  each  side  by  the  attendant  groomsmen.  After  he 
knelt,  he  rose  again  before  the  proper  time ;  the  Archbishop 
paused,  the  service  was  interrupted,  universal  confusion  prevailed 
among  the  royal  circle ;  and  the  prince  could  only  be  brought  to 
his  knees  again,  almost  unconsciously,  by  the  decisive  action  of 
George  III.,  who  rose  from  his  seat,  briskly  walked  to  his  bewil- 
dered son,  whispered  in  his  ear,  and  assisted  or  compelled  him 
again  to  kneel.  After  this  incident  the  ceremony  was  concluded 
with  the  aid  of  the  groomsmen,  who,  on  this  occasion,  were  com- 
pelled to  perform  a  service  which  never  fell  to  the  lot  of  princely 
attendants  before.  During  the  ceremony  the  unhappy  bride, 
who  was  unprepared  for  so  mortifying  a  scene,  could  not  conceal 
her  well-founded  sorrow.  A  supper  followed  at  Buckingham 
palace,  at  which  the  unlucky  pair  took  no  notice  of  each  other. 
At  midnight  they  retired  to  their  own  residence  at  Carlton 
House,  and  quarrelled  with  each  other  on  the  road.  Such  was 
mdeed  a  fitting  commencement  of  this  unfortunate  and  unpro- 
pitious  marriage.* 

*  BorarUa  Queens  of  England  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  238.  It 
is  difficult  to  assign  a  reason  for  the  conduct  of  Ihe  Prince  of  Wales  on  this  oc- 
casion, or  to  explain  why  he  should  have  had  recourse  to  the  pernicious  influence 
of  intoxicating  liquors.  Probably  he  was  filled  with  remorse  at  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  previously  existing  marriage  with  Mrs.  Fitzhefcert,  and  regret  at 
the  thought  of  resigning  her ;  for  he  apprehended  that  she  would  thenceforth 


34:4:  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

Carlton  House  had  been  furnished  for  the  reception  of  the 
prince  and  his  bride  with  regal  magnificence.  The  dressing-room 
of  the  princess  alone  cost  twenty-five  thousand  pounds.  Many 
valuable  presents  had  been  prepared  for  her  by  the  several  mem- 
bers of  the  royal  family.  But  all  these  indications  of  courtesy 
and  esteem,  as  well  as  the  countless  effusions  of  loyalty  and  ad- 
miration which  filled  the  newspapers  of  the  day  were  falsified  by 
the  event.  One  of  these  asserted  that  "  the  Princess  of  Wales 
was  one  of  the  best  harpsicord  players  among  the  royal  families 
on  the  continent :  the  prince  being  passionately  fond  of  music, 
harmony  will  of  course  be  the  order  of  the  day  !  "  It  was  as- 
serted in  the  same  quarter  that  the  princess  was  always  dressed 
in  a  simple  but  elegant  style ;  that  her  taste  in  every  part  of  her 
attire  was  equally  exquisite,  and  that  she  would  doubtless  become 
the  standard  of  fashionable  taste  and  elegance ;  whereas  a  de- 
ficiency in  this  very  respect  was  the  most  glaring  and  invincible 
defect  m  her  character. 

After  the  hateful  pageantry  of  the  marriage  of  the  prince,  came 
the  irksome  and  repulsive  task  of  paying  his  enormous  debts. 
These  now  amounted  to  t^e  sum  of  six  hundred  and  forty-two 
thousand  nine  hundred  pounds.  The  prince  had  consented  to  the 
match  only  on  condition  that  these  obligations  should  be  liquidated ; 
he  had  performed  his  part  of  the  contract  and  George  III,  was  ex- 
pected to  do  the  same.  On  the  27th  of  April,  1795,  Air.  Pitt 
introduced  the  subject  to  the  attention  of  the  Commons  in  a  very 
able  speech.  The  king  sent  in  a  message  in  which  he  set  forth 
the  necessity  of  providing  a  suitable  establishment  for  the  heir 
apparent,  and  added  that  the  first  point  preparatory  to  all  others, 
was  to  liquidate  his  debts.  One  expedient  by  which  he  proposed  to 
accomplish  this  result  was  to  appropriate  a  portion  of  the  prince's 

repel  him.  In  addition  to  this  he  was  doubtless  disgusted  with  the  offensivenesa 
of  the  person  of  the  princess.  A  third  reason  might  have  been  the  fact  that 
the  princess  had  herself  acknowledged,  that  her  affections  were  already  pre- 
occupied by  an  attachment  to  a  member  of  her  father's  diminutive  court  at 
Brunswick  ;  which  circumstance,  with  her  usual  carelessness  and  imprudence, 
she  had  communicj^d  to  her  worst  enemy,  Lady  Jersey. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOUETH.  345 

intended  income,  and  the  yearly  revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Corn- 
wall to  the  payment  of  his  obligations.  Mr.  Pitt  proposed  that 
the  annual  income  of  the  prince  should  be  fixed  at  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  pounds,  that  twenty-eight  thousand  should 
be  allowed  for  jewels  and  plate  for  the  marriage,  and  twenty-six 
thousand  be  allowed  for  the  finishing  and  enlarging  of  Carlton 
House.  The  revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall  were  thirteen 
thousand  pounds.  The  accumulation  during  the  prince's  minority 
from  1763  to  1783  were  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  thousand 
pounds.  The  minister  proposed  that  seventy-eight  thousand 
pounds  of  this  sum  should  be  appropriated  to  this  purpose  ;  and 
that  the  princess  should  have  a  yearly  income  of  fifty  thousand 
pounds,  independently  of  her  husband. 

The  discussion  on  the  proposition  of  the  minister  continued 
during  nearly  three  months.  Fox  and  Sheridan  greatly  distin- 
guished themselves  during  its  progress,  by  the  ability  and  fierce- 
ness with  which  they  attacked  the  kmg  and  his  cabinet.  The 
mind  of  the  nation  was  hostile  to  the  prince.  It  was  at  that  very 
period  sore  and  fretted,  in  consequence  of  the  disastrous  results 
of  the  French  war,  and  the  splendid  triumphs  which  clustered 
around  the  eagles  of  the  rising  young  Republic.  The  taxes 
which  the  nation  paid  were  already  enormous  ;  and  when  they 
heard  of  a  farrier's  bill  for  forty  thousand  pounds,  and  an  amiuity 
to  his  cast-off"  mistress,  Mrs.  Cx'ouch,  being  among  the  obligations 
of  the  voluptuous  and  lavish  prince,  they  became  intensely  and 
not  unjustly  incensed.  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  was  at  this  period  re- 
siding in  a  magnificent  mansion  in  Park  Lane,  at  the  rate  of  ten 
thousand  pounds  a  year ;  while  Lady  Jersey  succeeded  in  ex- 
tracting from  the  purse  of  her  unprincipled  paramour  of  no  in- 
considerable sum. 

What  might  eventually  have  been  the  result  of  the  debate  in 
Parliament  on  the  subject,  it  would  be  impossible  to  assert,  had 
not  the  prince  himself,  by  Mr.  Anstruther,  his  solicitor-general, 
proposed  a  compromise.  The  proceedings  eventually  terminated 
by  the  passage  of  three  bills ;  the  first,  for  preventing  future 
Princes  of  Wales  from  incurring  debts  ;  the  second  granting  an 


346  HISTOKT   OF   THE  FOITR   GEOKGES. 

establishment  to  the  prince ;  the  third  providing  a  jointure  for 
the  princess.  Commissioners  were  also  appointed  to  examine 
into  the  nature  and  justice  of  his  debts.  Some  of  the  claims 
were  rejected  as  utterly  groundless ;  many  were  reduced  in  a 
great  degree  as  exorbitant ;  and  a  per  centage  was  taken  off  from 
the  whole  of  them.  The  creditors  whose  demands  were  allowed, 
were  to  be  paid  by  debentures  bearing  interest,  and  the  term  of 
nine  years  was  allowed  for  the  final  settlement  of  the  entire 
amount.  By  this  means,  this  most  lavish  and  expensive  of 
human  beings  was  again  relieved  for  a  time  from  the  pecuniary 
embarrassments  by  which  for  some  years,  he  had  been  annoyed. 

The  domestic  quarrels  of  the  pruice  and  princess  began  im- 
mediately after  their  marriage,  and  never  ended  until  the  death 
of  the  latter.  The  prince  soon  succeeded  in  wimiing  back  the 
society  of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert — from  that  of  Lady  Jersey  he  had 
never  separated  himself.  On  more  than  one  occasion,  both  of 
these  women,  by  the  contrivance  of  the  prince,  dined  at  the  same 
tablein  order  to  mortify  the  princess.  On  the  7th  of  January,  1796, 
the  Princess  Charlotte,  the  ill-starred  fruit  of  this  untoward  match, 
was  born ;  but  her  advent  brought  no  joy  to  the  heart  of  the 
unfortunate  mother.  The  father,  when  presented  with  the  infant, 
coldly  remarked  that  it  was  a  fine  girl,  and  never  approached 
the  bedside  of  the  mother.  He  refused  all  public  demonstrations 
of  conoratulation  from  the  various  corporations  of  the  realm, 
which  courteously  tendered  them ;  and  the  reason  was,  that  he 
had  already  determined  upon  a  total  and  final  separation  from 
his  wife.  As  soon  as  she  had  partially  recovered  from  the  effects 
of  her  confinement,  her  husband's  purpose  was  conveyed  to  her 
by  Lady  Cholmondeley.  She  replied,  with  as  much  composure 
as  she  could  assume,  that  such  an  intention  should  be  conveyed 
to  her  directly  from  her  husband  in  writing  ;  and  that,  should  a 
separation  then  take  place,  their  intercourse  should  never  under 
any  circumstances  be  again  resumed. 

In  accordance  with  the  intention  thus  expressed,  the  prince 
wrote  a  letter  in  which  he  said  that  "  our  inclinations  are  not  in 
our  power ;  nor  should  either  of  us  be  held  answerable  to  the 


LIFE   AJfD   REIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH.  347 

other,  because  nature  has  not  made  us  suitable  to  each  other. 
Tranquillity  and  comfortable  society  are,  however,  in  our  power ; 
let  our  intercourse  therefore  be  restricted  to  that."  He  ex- 
pressed his  hearty  concurrence  in  the  determination  of  the  prin- 
cess, that  if  they  separated  at  all  it  should  be  forever  ;  and  even 
"went  so  far  as  to  contemplate  remote  and  possible  contingencies 
by  adding,  that  should  any  accident  happen  to  their  daughter,  by 
which  her  life  would  be  terminated,  he  would  never  propose  to 
remedy  the  calamity  by  resummg  "  a  connection  of  a  more  par- 
ticular nature." 

The  princess  was  compelled  to  acquiesce  in  the  purpose  of  her 
husband  ;  and  after  precisely  one  year's  experience  of  domestic 
life,  they  separated  forever.  Her  allowance  was  at  first  fixed  at 
twenty  thousand  pounds  ;  but  she  finally  refused  to  accept  this 
sum,  and  held  her  husband  responsible  for  her  expenses.  She 
retired  to  a  small  residence  at  Charlton  near  Woolwich ;  but 
subsequently  she  removed  to  Montague  House  on  Blackheath. 
She  still  retained  possession  of  her  daughter,  and  was  occasion- 
ally visited  by  her  royal  father-in-law  and  uncle.  At  Montague 
House,  the  princess  entertained  her  friends  in  a  handsome  man- 
ner ;  and  among  her  frequent  visitors  were  Lord  Chancellor 
Eldon  and  George  Canning.  The  young  Princess  Charlotte  was 
placed,  when  at  the  proper  age,  under  the  superintendence  of 
Lady  Elgin,  in  a  mansion  in  the  vicinity  ;  though  the  visits  of 
the  unhappy  mother  to  her  child  were  generally  restricted  to 
one  a  week. 

The  matter  of  the  pecuniary  support  of  the  princess  was 
finally  settled  by  an  annual  allowance  of  about  twenty  thousand 
pounds — the  sum  which  she  previously  refused..  Her  husband 
now  retired  for  some  years  from  the  public  gaze,  and  spent  his 
obscurity  in  the  indulgence  of  all  his  luxurious  and  voluptuous 
tastes.  Those  eight  happiest  years  of  his  life  in  the  society  of 
Mrs.  Fitzherbert  then  ensued,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made ;  and  while  the  continent  was  convulsed  with  the  great 
events  attendant  upon  the  meteoric  ambition  of  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte, the  prince  luxuriated  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  choicest 


348  HISTORY   OF  THE  FOUR   GEORGES. 

felicities  which  earth  can  bestow,  except  one  and  the  greatest — 
an  easy  conscience.* 

*  The  reply  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  to  the  communication  of  her  husband, 
in  which  he  expressed  his  desire  and  determination  to  have  a  permanent  sep- 
aration, was  as  follows : 

"  Sir, — The  avowal  of  your  conversation  with  Lord  Cholmondeley  neither 
surprises  nor  offends  me  ;  it  merely  confirmed  what  you  have  tacitly  insinuated 
for  this  twelvemonth.  But  after  this,  it  would  be  a  want  of  delicacy,  or  rather 
an  unworthy  meanness,  in  me,  were  I  to  complain  of  those  conditions  which 
you  impose  upon  yourself.  I  should  have  returned  no  answer  to  your  letter,  if 
it  had  not  been  conceived  in  terms  to  make  it  doubtful  whether  this  arrangement 
proceeds  from  you  or  from  me.  You  are  aware  that  the  honor  of  it  belongs  to 
you  alone.  The  letter  which  you  announce  to  me  as  the  last,  obliges  me  to  com- 
municate to  the  king,  as  to  my  sovereign  and  my  father,  both  your  avowal  and 
my  answer.  You  will  find  inclosed  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  the  king.  I  apprise 
you  of  it,  that  I  may  not  incur  the  slightest  reproach  of  duplicity  from  you.  As 
I  have  at  this  moment  no  protector  but  his  majesty,  I  refer  myself  solely  to  him 
on  this  subject ;  and  if  my  conduct  meet  his  approbation,  I  shall  be,  in  some 
degree  at  least,  consoled.  I  retain  every  sentiment  of  gratitude  for  the  situation 
in  which  I  find  myself,  as  Princess  of  Wales,  enabled  by  your  means  to  indulge 
in  the  free  exercise  of  a  virtue  dear  to  my  heart — charity.  It  will  be  my  duty, 
likewise,  to  act  upon  another  motive — that  of  giving  an  example  of  patience 
and  resignation  under  every  trial. 

"  Do  me  the  justice  to  believe  that  I  shall  never  cease  to  pray  for  your  hap- 
piness, and  to  be,  your  much  devoted,  Caroline."  Groly's  Life  and  Times  of 
George  IV., -p.  202. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Defects  of  the  Prince  of  Wales— The  Inconsistency  of  his  Political  Conduct— The  Situ- 
ation of  the  Princess  of  Wales— Lord  and  Lady  Douglas — Malicious  Charges  of  the 
latter  against  the  Princess— Trial  of  the  Princess  for  Adultery— Evidence  in  her 
favor— Iler  Acquittal— The  Sympathy  of  the  Nation  in  her  behalf— The  Prince  of 
Wales  takes  a  new  Mistress — Lady  Hertford— Financial  Embarrassments  of  the 
Princess  of  Wales— Death  of  Mr.  Percival— Duke  of  Wellington— The  Prince  of 
Wales  obtains  an  unrestricted  Eegency. 

Perfidy  and  want  of  consistency  were  among  the  most  glaring 
defects  in  the  character  of  the  Prince  of  Wales ;  and  he  displayed 
them  in  every  stage  of  his  cai-eer.  In  his  early  manhood,  when 
he  first  entered  political  life,  his  rebellious  hatred  to  his  father 
induced  him  to  form  an  intimate  alliance  with  his  father's  fiercest 
enemies,  the  liberal  Whigs.  When  the  French  Revolution 
broke  forth,  and  threatened  to  prostrate  to  the  earth  every 
throne  in  Europe,  he  deserted  the  Whig  party,  which  admired 
and  commended  that  remarkable  movement,  and  publicly 
avowed  his  hostility  to  the  sentiments  and  measures  of  his  for- 
mer associates.  After  the  alarm  of  the  terrified  monarchs  sub- 
sided, and  they  recovered  their  usual  repose  and  confidence,  the 
prince  gradually  returned  to  his  deserted  friends,  for  the  purpose 
of  using  them  as  tools  with  which  to  embarrass  his  father's  gov- 
ernment. When  the  confirmed  insanity  of  George  III.  placed  the 
regency  in  the  hands  of  the  prince,  he  again  shamefully  aban- 
doned the  Whigs,  patronized  the  Tory  faction,  and  even  perse- 
cuted his  former  confederates  with  that  malignant  rancor  which 
he  only  can  exhibit,  who  is  conscious  that  he  has  so  deeply  in- 
jured, that  he  can  neither  forgive  nor  be  forgiven.  The  same 
pernicious   and   unprincipled  policy   characterized  his   conduct 


350  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEOEGES. 

toward  his  wives  and  mistresses.  He  promised  to  marry  Car- 
oline of  Brunswick  only  that  he  might  obtain  money.  He  knew 
that  he  had  already  entered  into  a  most  solemn  obligation  to 
"  love,  cherish  and  protect "  another  lady,  who  was  indeed  not 
unworthy  of  his  affection ,  and  no  sooner  was  the  second  mar 
riage  consummated  than  he  abandoned  the  unfortunate  woman 
whom  he  had  induced  by  the  false  offer  of  an  unappropriated 
hand  and  heart,  to  leave  her  paternal  roof  and  accept  a  shelter 
under  his  own.  He  then  commenced  a  series  of  persecutions 
and  indignities  against  her  which  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in  his- 
tory ;  2)lacing  tempters  in  her  way,  and  spies  to  hover  around 
her  steps,  so  that  he  might  eventually  ruin  her  reputation,  blast 
her  happiness,  and  inflict  upon  her  those  miseries  which,  to  the 
female  spirit,  are  most  calamitous  and  crushing. 

The  solitude  in  which  the  desertion  of  her  husband,  and  the 
removal  of  her  daughter,  left  the  Princess  of  Wales,  induced  her 
to  seek  an  alleviation  in  the  society  of  children.  She  had  heard 
that  Sir  John  and  Lady  Douglas,  who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of 
her  own  abode,  possessed  a  child  of  rare  beauty,  and  she  called 
in  person  to  see  it.  Previous  to  this  event  she  had  no  acquamt 
ance  with  the  family,  but  after  the  first  interview,  their  inter- 
course rapidly  ripened  into  the  closest  intimacy.  Lady  Douglas 
was  an  intriguing  woman,  and  her  reputation  was  not  spotless. 
She  was  a  most  dangerous  person  to  be  the  associate  of  a  wo- 
man so  bold  and  imprudent  in  her  speech  as  the  Princess  of 
Wales ;  for  she  was  capable  of  turning  all  that  she  heard,  in 
moments  of  unsuspicious  freedom,  to  the  worst  account.  The 
princess  soon  became  aware  of  this  painful  circumstance,  and 
then  she  suddenly  broke  off"  the  acquaintance.  This  course 
greatly  incensed  the  discarded  family ;  and  their  indignation  was 
increased  when  they  received  an  anonymous  letter  of  an  insulting 
character,  which  they  falsely  ascribed  to  the  princess  as  its 
author. 

Lady  Douglas  determined  to  revenge  the  supposed  insult. 
In  1802  the  princess  had  taken  a  fancy  to  an  infant  whose 
parents  were  named  Austin,  and  which  had  been  born  in  a  hos- 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.      351 

pital.  She  had  it  removed  to  her  own  residence,  and  there  tend- 
ed with  the  utmost  care.  Lady  Douglas  took  advantage  of  this 
circumstance,  to  base  upon  it  the  most  gigantic  and  formidable 
pyramid  of  lies  which  ever  yet  crushed  a  woman's  reputation. 
She  informed  the  Duke  of  Kent  that  she  was  in  possession  of  im- 
portant facts  which  closely  concerned  the  honor  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  was  prepared  to  communicate  them.  The  Duke  had 
an  interview  with  the  lady ;  and  afterward  scrupulously  detailed  to 
the  prince  of  the  substance  of  her  information.  The  latter  wel- 
comed the  intelligence,  and  requested  that  Lady  Douglas  might 
prepare  a  written  statement  of  all  the  facts  within  her  knowl- 
edge ;  with  which  request  she  eagerly  complied.  She  declared 
that  during  her  close  and  confidential  intercourse  with  the  prin- 
cess, she  discovered  that  she  was  coarse  in  conversation,  vulgar 
in  behavior,  and  vicious  in  conduct ;  that  she  attempted  to  se- 
duce even  Lady  Douglas  herself  from  the  path  of  virtue ;  and 
that  she  had  laughed  at  her  supposed  scruples.  She  asserted 
that  the  princess  had  acknowledged  to  her  that  she  was  about  to 
become  a  mother ;  that  to  avoid  suspicion  she  had  resolved  to 
pretend  to  adopt  a  child,  and  call  it  Austin  ;  and  that  the  person 
of  the  princess,  immediately  before  the  appearance  of  that  child, 
indicated  by  every  infallible  evidence  the  existence  of  her  preg- 
nancy. Various  other  details  followed,  so  indelicate  in  their 
character  that  they  cannot  be  here  repeated. 

On  the  strength  of  this  statement  a  commission  was  formed  in 
1805,  to  take  the  testimony  of  some  corroborating  witnesses  to 
whom  Lady  Douglas  referred.  These  were  chiefly  servants  in 
the  household  of  the  princess.  Accordingly,  John  Cole  was  ex- 
amined, w^hom  the  princess  had  recently  discarded,  as  he  asserted, 
for  no  greater  offense  than  having  accidentally  observed  some 
improper  conduct  between  her  and  Sir  Sidney  Smith.  He  added 
that  he  had  seen  immoral  proceedings  between  the  princess  and 
Captain  Manby  of  the  Royal  Navy,  and  between  her  and  Law- 
rence the  painter.  Bidgood,  another  servant,  was  also  examined. 
He  testified  that  he  had  seen  Captain  Manby  kiss  the  princess, 
and  had  observed  her  to  weep  at  his  departure  from  her  resi- 


352  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

dence.  He  deposed  to  similar  improprieties  between  his  mis- 
tress and  Captain  Hood.  All  these  witnesses  had  been  placed 
in  the  household  of  the  princess,  in  the  first  instance,  not  by  her 
own  selection,  but  by  that  of  her  husband. 

In  consequence  of  this  additional  evidence,  the  king  issued  his 
warrant  in  May,  1806,  to  Lords  Erskine,  Grenville,  Spencer,  and 
Ellenborough,  directing  them  to  inquire  into  the  truth  or  false- 
hood of  the  accusations  made  against  the  princess,  and  report 
the  results  of  their  investigations.  They  examined  all  the  wit- 
nesses under  oath.  These  testified  before  the  royal  commission- 
ers to  the  same  effect  as  when  first  interrogated.  Lady  Douglas, 
Sir  John  Douglas,  Cole,  Fanny  Eloyd,  and  Bidgood,  were  the 
principal  witnesses  to  the  improper  and  guilty  behaviour  of  the 
accused ;  but  their  declarations  were  afterward  contradicted  in 
the  most  positive  and  conclusive  mamier  by  other  witnesses  far 
more  credible  and  competent  than  themselves.  The  evidence  to 
show  that  young  Austin  was  not  the  child  of  the  princess,  but 
was  born  of  a  poor  and  humble  mother  in  Brownlow  Street  Hos- 
pital, was  complete  and  overwhelming.  It  became  equally  clear 
that  the  princess  had  taken  charge  of  it  from  motives  of  charity 
and  benevolence.  It  was  also  established  by  more  honest  -svit- 
nesses  who  were  in  the  service  of  the  princess,  that  she  had  never 
exhibited  the  slightest  indications  of  pregnancy.  Captain  Manby 
swore  positively,  that  the  assertion  of  Bidgood,  that  he  had  seen 
him  kiss  the  princess,  was  totally  and  absolutely  false  ;  and  that 
he  had  never  on  any  occasion  or  in  any  manner  approached 
her  person.  The  painter  Lawrence  testified  that  he  had 
never  been  alone  wath  the  princess  in  his  life,  save  once,  and 
that  only  for  a  moment,  when  he  turned  back  from  the  company 
which  was  retiring  from  her  presence,  to  answer  a  question  put 
to  him  by  the  princess  in  reference  to  her  portrait  which  he  was 
then  painting ;  and  he  solemnly  averred  that  he  had  never 
touched  her  person  in  any  manner.  Mr.  Edmondes,  whom  one 
of  the  witnesses  against  the  princess  had  accused  of  having  said, 
that  he  knew  facts  which  would  convict  and  condemn  her,  deposed 
that  he  had  never  uttered  a  word  tending  in  any  way  to  criminate 


LIFE   A^D   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH,  353 

or  degrade  her.  Mr,  Mills,  the  medical  attendant  of  the  princess, 
declared  under  oath,  f hat  the  witness  who  asserted  that  he  had  inti- 
mated that  the  princess  was  pregnant  in  1802,  swore  falsely;  and 
that  the  princess  had  never  shown  the  least  evidence  of  pregnancy 
since  his  acquaintance  with  her.  Other  witnesses  testified  that 
they  had  seen  Lady  Douglas  and  Bidgood  in  secret  conversation 
together,  evidently  hatching  between  them  the  minute  details  of 
these  infamous  slanders.  Sir  Sidney  Smith  also  testified  that, 
though  he  had  been  intimately  acquainted  with  the  princess,  and 
had  frequently  visited  her  in  the  morning,  which  was  a  usual  cus- 
tom at  that  time  even  in  the  highest  ranks  of  English  society, 
there  had  never  passed  the  slightest  impropriety  between  him 
and  the  accused.* 

The  evidence  in  favor  of  the  princess  was  in  truth  overwhelm- 
ing. Every  charge  was  triumphantly  refuted.  The  written  and 
verified  testimony  taken  before  the  royal  commissioners  was 
then  submitted  to  the  scrutiny  of  the  king,  who  carefully  exam- 
ined it,  and  was  completely  satisfied  in  regard  to  the  innocence 
of  his  daughter-in-law.  Yet  nine  weeks  elapsed  before  she  re- 
ceived any  communication  which  could  alleviate  her  suspense  on 
the  subject.  She  then  addressed  a  courteous  letter  to  the  king, 
requesting  that  he  would  hasten  his  final  judgment  in  the  matter, 
inasmuch  as  such  delay  caused  her  to  sink  in  the  estimation  of 
his  majesty's  subjects,  and  gave  a  temporary  and  unfair  tri- 
umph to  her  enemies.  Yet  some  months  passed  away  after  this 
appeal,  before  the  king  rendered  his  opinion  of  the  innocence  or 
the  guilt  of  the  accused.  In  January,  1807,  the  cabinet,  at  the 
command  of  the  monarch,  gave  utterance  to  the  conclusion  to 
which  he  had  arrived  ;  and  they  set  forth  that  the  evidence  did 
not  justify  further  proceedings  against  the  accused.  They  how- 
ever did  not  acquit  her  formally  and  absolutely,  as  they  should 
have  done ;  but  set  forth  that  the  princess  had  evidently  been 
guilty  of  great   imprudence  and  impropriety ;  and  concluded 

*  See  Diary  Ulusirative  of  the  Times  of  George  IV.,  with  Letters  of  Queen 
Caroline,  Frincess  CliarloUe,  and  other  Distinguished  Persons.  Edited  by  John 
Gait.    4  vols.    London  :  Colburn,  1839.    V<t.  iii.,  p.  240. 


354  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEOKGES. 

with  administering  to  her  a  reproof  and  a  caution  as  to  her  con- 
duct in  future.  This  last  was  indeed  not  undeserved ;  but  the 
absence  of  a  total  acquittal,  in  a  case  where  the  evidence  did  not, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  commissioners,  justify  a  conviction,  was  an 
outrage  upon  English  law  and  natural  justice.  After  the  termin- 
ation of  the  whole  affair,  the  king  formally  informed  Caroline 
that  "  his  Majesty  was  convinced  that  it  was  no  longer  necessary 
for  him  to  decline  receiving  her  into  the  royal  presence."  Thus 
terminated  this  memorable  and  infamous  scrutiny,  which  was  in 
itself  an  object  of  popular  disgust  and  reprobation.  The  nation 
at  large  exulted  in  the  vindication  of  the  princess  which  resulted 
from  it ;  for  she  then  possessed,  as  she  did  until  the  day  of  her 
death,  their  confidence  and  sympathy  ;  but  they  condemned  the 
inquest  because  it  did  not  give  to  approved  innocence  that  signal 
triumph  to  which  it  is  entitled,  when  it  overwhelms  the  false  ac- 
cuser with  a  resistless  flood  of  vindicatory  evidence.  The  English 
nation  readily  discerned  that,  behind  the  solemn  and  majestic  form 
of  justice,  the  shadow  of  the  real  prosecutor,  the  recreant  husband, 
hovered  ;  and  that  his  pernicious  influence  prevented  the  full  and 
equitable  performance  of  the  behests  of  truth  and  righteousness 
toward  the  accused.  This  conviction  greatly  injured  the  prince 
in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  and  augmented  that  load  of  cen- 
sure and  execration  under  which  he  already  so  ignominiously 
labored. 

Shortly  after  the  termination  of  this  "  delicate  investigation," 
as  it  was  courteously  termed,  the  prince  consoled  himself  for  his 
disappointed  vengeance  by  taking  a  new  mistress.  The  person 
in  question  was  Lady  Hertford.  He  made  her  acquaintance  in 
consequence  of  wishing  to  gratify  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  in  obtaining 
a  niece  of  the  former  lady,  Miss  Seymour,  as  a  companion  for 
her.  During  the  progress  of  the  negotiation  the  prince  was 
charmed  with  the  beauty,  intelligence,  and  amiability  of  Lady 
Hertford,  and  fell  desperately  in  love  with  her.  At  first  his 
offers  and  his  person  were  repelled.  He  then  betook  himself  to 
his  former  ridiculous  expedients  to  win  female  pity  and  sym- 
pathy, bled  himself  excessively,  became  in  consequence  very  pale 


LIFE   AND   REIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOtJRTir.  355 

and  interesting,  and  ended  by  adding  the  obdurate  beauty  to  the 
already  extensive  and  varied  list  of  his  female  conquests. 

The  purpose  of  George  III.  to  admit  the  Princess  of  Wales  to 
a  personal  interview  Avas  postj^oned  for  a  time  by  the  interpo- 
sition of  her  husband,  who  informed  the  king  that  he  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  result  of  the  late  inquiry,  but  intended  to  refer 
the  charges  back  again  to  the  action  of  his  legal  advisers.  But 
in  March,  1807,  the  Grenville  administration,  who  were  hostile 
to  the  princess  were''  compelled  to  resign,  and  a  new  ministry 
were  appointed,  the  leading  members  of  which  were  favorable  to 
her.  Among  their  number  were  Lord  President  Camden,  Lord 
Chancellor  Eldon,  Lord  Privy  Seal  Westmoreland,  the  Duke 
of  Portland,  !Mr.  Canning,  and  Viscount  Castlereagh,  These 
statesmen  suggested  to  the  monarch  the  propriety  of  doing  tardy 
justice  to  the  princess ;  and  accordingly  in  the  succeeding  May 
she  was  invited  to  the  queen's  drawing-room.  A  large  and  bril- 
liant company  were  present.  During  the  course  of  the  evening 
the  prince  and  princess  accidentally  met  in  the  centre  of  the 
apartment.  The  collision  must  have  been  most  unwelcome  to 
the  former,  but  he  was  compelled  to  assume  a  degree  of  courtesy 
which  was  greatly  foreign  to  his  feelings.  He  bowed  to  the  prin- 
cess, stood  face  to  face  for  a  few  moments,  exchanged  some  words 
which  the  eager  bystanders  were  unable  to  hear,  and  then  passed 
on.  His  manner  was  cold,  repulsive,  and  stately  ;  hers,  was  a 
melancholy  and  feeble  assumption  of  gaiety,  which  clearly  indi- 
cated that  her  heart  was  heavily  oppressed  Avith  anguish.  They 
never  met  again  during  the  course  of  their  subsequent  liA'es. 

Another  misfortune  now  overtook  the  princess.  She  was 
burdened  with  debts,  and  embarrassed  for  means.  One  of  her  chief 
defects  Avas  her  total  inability  to  financier,  and  an  utter  ignorance 
of  the  A'alue  of  money.  In  1809,  she  was  compelled  to  apply  to 
the  ministers  for  relief,  to  liquidate  debts  Avhich  had  accumulated 
to  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  pounds.  The  Prince  of  Wales  em- 
braced the  opportunity  to  effect  a  formal  separation  from  his  de- 
tested and  injured  Avife.  On  this  condition  he  agreed  to  pay  her 
obligations,  Avith  the  proviso  that  he  should  be  released  from  all 


356       msTOKT  OF  the  fouk  geoeges. 

future  pecuniary  responsibility  on  her  behalf;  and  an  income  of 
twenty-two  thousand  pounds  per  year  was  allowed  her,  to  be  dis- 
bursed under  the  control  of  a  treasurer,  who  was  to  superintend 
her  expenses.  Such  was  the  relation  which  was  established  be- 
tween this  unhappy  and  unenviable  pair,  when  in  1810,  the  prince, 
in  consequence  of  the  king's  temporary  insanity,  obtained  a  re- 
stricted regency.  The  princess  continued  to  reside  quietly  at 
Kensington  Palace ;  the  prince  at  Carlton  House.  An  intense 
feeling  of  hostility  mutually  embittered  their  lives.  Meanwhile 
their  daughter,  the  Princess  Charlotte,  increased  in  years  and 
graces,  and  was  hastening  forward  to  the  completion  of  that  mel- 
ancholy career  which  fate  had  allotted  her.  She  was  permitted 
occasionally  to  see  her  mother,  but  she  continued  to  reside  at 
Carlton  House.  She  was  a  beautiful,  graceful,  and  intelligent 
girl.  She  is  described  as  having  been  large  for  her  age,  with  a 
full  bosom,  ample  and  well-rounded  shoulders,  hands  and  arms 
of  faultless  symmetry,  with  a  sweet  and  musical  voice.*  Her 
personal  charms  and  accomplishments  improved  with  the  progress 
of  time,  until  her  marriage  subsequently  consummated  her  tran- 
sient felicity. 

At  length  in  1812  the  insanity  of  George  III.  appearing  to 
have  become  confirmed  and  hopeless,  the  restrictions  which  had 
been  placed  upon  the  Regency  were  removed,  and  the  Prince  of 
Wales  virtually  became  the  monarch  of  the  British  Empire. 
The  brilliant  talents  of  Mr.  Percival  then  guided  the  destinies  of 
the  nation  as  prime  minister ;  but  the  sudden  blow  of  the  assas- 
sin terminated  his  eminent  career,  and  deprived  the  Prince  Re- 
gent of  the  invaluable  aid  of  his  services.  On  the  11th  of  May, 
he  was  shot  when  passing  through  the  lobby  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  by  an  obscure  person  named  Bellingham,  who  was 
doubtless  insane.  The  prince,  on  being  informed  of  this  great 
calamity,  sent  a  message  to  the  house,  condoling  with  them  on 
the  general  loss,  and  proposing  an  annuity  for  the  family  of  the 

*  See  Diary  Illustratwe  of  the  Times  of  George  IV.,  comprising  the  Secret 
History  of  the  Court,  d'C.  By  Lady  Charlotte  Bury,  Maid,  of  Honor  to  Queen 
Caroline,    4  vols.    London,  1839.    Vol.  i.,  p.  65. 


LIFE   AND  KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   FOURTH.  357 

murdered  statesman  ;  "which  was  readily  acceded  to  by  the  mem- 
bers. The  Marquis  of  Wellesley  was  then  commissioned  by  the 
prince  to  form  a  new  ministry.  Many  difficulties  obstructed  the 
way.  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville  were  invited  to  share  in  the 
administration,  and  both  refused,  unless  they  obtained  possession 
of  the  whole  of  the  patronage  of  the  government.  This  demand 
was  regarded  as  exorbitant  beyond  sufferance,  and  the  delibera- 
tions terminated  on  the  8th  of  June,  1812,  by  the  appointment 
of  the  Earl  of  Liverpool  as  the  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury.  At 
the  time  of  the  accession  of  the  prince  to  the  unrestricted  Re- 
gency, he  was  one  of  the  most  unpopular  sovereigns  who  ever 
wielded  the  sceptre  of  England. 


CHAPTEE   IV. 

Unpleasant  Position  of  the  Princess  Charlotte — Published  Letter  of  the  Princess  of 
"Wales — Flight  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  from  her  Father's  Eesidence — She  Is  com- 
pelled to  return — Eage  of  the  Prince  Kegent  at  her  Flight — Persecutions  of  hex 
Mother — The  Princess  of  Wales  resolves  to  travel  on  the  Continent — Marriage  of  the 
Princess  Charlotte — Her  Subsequent  Death — General  Grief  of  the  Nation — Conduct 
of  the  Princess  of  Wales  during  her  Travels — The  Milan  Commission — Resolution 
of  the  Princess  to  return  to  England— Her  Second  Trial  for  Adultery  is  resolved 
upon. 

As  the  Princess  Charlotte  advanced  in  years,  and  comprehended 
more  clearly  the  unfortunate  relations  which  existed  between  her 
parents,  she  very  naturally  became  the  partisan  of  her  mother. 
The  Prince  Regent  was  not  slow  to  discover  this  unwelcome  fact, 
and  his  treatment  of  his  daughter  became  in  consequence  ex- 
tremely tyrannical  and  harsh.  He  endeavored  to  restrict  their 
intercourse  still  more  than  it  had  previously  been  ;  but  the  two 
ladies,  though  watched  by  the  agents  of  their  father,  eluded  their 
vigilance,  and  corresponded  repeatedly  and  continually.  But 
the  epistolary  labors  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  were  not  confined 
to  her  daughter.  In  1813,  she  wrote  a  long  and  feeling  letter  to 
her  husband  in  which  she  asserted  her  innocence  of  all  guilt,  con- 
demned the  restrictions  which  were  placed  upon  her  intercourse 
with  her  daughter,  and  demanded  that  an  end  should  be  put  to 
the  numerous  and  unjust  persecutions  which  she  was  compelled 
to  endure.  The  letter  was  returned  unopened.  It  was  again 
sent  to  the  prince,  and  again  returned  with  an  intimation  that  the 
prince  would  enter  into  no  correspondence  with  its  author. 
Legal  advice  was  taken  and  the  letter  was  again  despatched  to 
the  prince.     An  answer  was  returned  by  Lord  Liverpool,  to  the 


LIFE  AKD  BEIGN  OF  GEOKGE   THE  FOTJETH.  359 

effect  that  the  prince  had  been  informed  of  its.  contents  but  had 
no  reply  to  make  to  it.  The  princess  then  published  the  letter 
in  the  Morning  journals,  and  its  appearance  excited  the  wrath  of 
the  regent  to  an  extent  which  almost  overturned  his  reason.  The 
nation  eagerly  perused  this  document,  containing  the  story  of  the 
writer's  wrongs  ;  one  voice  of  indignation  against  the  prince  re- 
sounded throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land ;  and  the 
strongest  popular  sympathy  was  excited  in  behalf  of  an  innocent 
woman,  who  was  persecuted  and  outraged  by  a  notorious  liber- 
tine, an  unprincipled  sensualist,  a  lavish  and  unscrupulous  tyrant, 
for  no  fault  whatever,  except  that  her  person  and  disposition 
did  not  please  his  flistidious  and  prurient  taste. 

The  popular  sympathy  only  impelled  the  prince  to  treat  his 
discarded  wife  with  more  unjustifiable  cruelty.  When  in  1815, 
the  allied  sovereigns  of  Europe,  who  had  triumphantly  placed 
their  feet  upon  the  neck  of  Napoleon,  congregated  in  London, 
and  when  the  absolute  etiquette  of  courts  demanded  that  all  the 
royal  visitors  should  pay  their  respects  to  the  wife  of  the  Eegent, 
he  prevented  them,  by  the  most  peremptory  requests,  from  giving 
the  least  indication  that  they  were  conscious  of  her  existence. 
His  antipathy  even  extended  to  interfering  with  her  appear- 
ance in  the  theatres,  and  to  prohibiting  invitations  to  be  sent  to 
her  to  be  present  at  the  banquets  given  by  the  great  corporations 
of  the  realm  in  the  capital.  Sometimes,  however,  in  spite  of  all 
his  efforts,  the  princess  confronted  her  husband  in  public,  and 
divided  with  him,  to  his  infinite  annoyance,  the  applauses  of  the 
multitude.  Such  triumphs  very  naturally  afforded  her  exquisite 
pleasure ;  at  other  times,  the  indignities  inflicted  on  her  by  her 
husband  and  his  emissaries,  drew  tears  from  her  eyes.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  abuse  with  which  the  populace  sometimes  avenged  her 
wrongs  upon  the  Eegent  extorted  curses  from  his  lips  ;  for  as  he 
once  proceeded  from  Temple  Bar  to  a  public  banquet  in  Guild- 
hall, they  rent  the  air  with  insulting  cries  of  "  Where's  your 
wife  ?  " — the  most  unwelcome  and  repugnant  question  which 
could  possibly  have  been  propounded  to  his  Royal  Highness 
under  any  circumstances,  but  especially  on  so  public  and  notori- 
ous an  occasion. 


360  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

In  July,  1814,  the  Princess  Charlotte  indicated  the  boldness 
of  her  spirit,  and  her  preference  for  her  mother,  by  an  act  of 
great  resolution.  She  was  informed  that  her  father  had  deter- 
mined to  remove  her  from  Carlton  Heuse  to  the  remote  and 
secluded  residence  of  Cranbourne  Lodge,  in  Windsor  Forest. 
The  purpose  of  the  Prince  Eegent  in  so  doing  was  to  place  her 
at  a  greater  distance,  and  in  more  complete  separation,  from  her 
mother.  As  soon  as  the  princess  was  informed  of  this  intention, 
she  dressed  herself,  silently  and  quickly  descended  the  stairs  of 
the  palace,  and  reached  the  pavement  of  Cockspur  street.  It  was 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  She  instantly  summoned  a  coach, 
and  drove  unattended  to  the  residence  of  her  mother  in  Connau^ht 
Place.  Having  arrived  there  she  found  her  mother  absent  at 
Blackheath.  She  dispatched  a  message  thither  to  request  her 
return  ;  and  her  mother's  legal  advisers,  Messrs.  Brougham  and 
Whitbread,  were  also  sent  for.  After  a  short  interval  all  these 
parties  arrived  at  Connaught  House,  when  the  young  princess 
explained  to  them  the  causes  and  the  purpose  of  her  flight.  But 
Mr.  Brougham  was  compelled  to  inform  her  that,  by  the  laws  of 
the  realm,  the  King  or  Eegent  had  absolute  power  to  dispose  of 
the  persons  of  all  the  royal  family  while  under  age,  and  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  her  to  resist  the  authority  of  her  father. 
This  information  greatly  distressed  the  princess.  Other  eminent 
personages  soon  afterward  arrived:  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, Lord  Chancellor  Eldon,  the  Duke  of  Sussex  being 
among  the  number ;  and  they  all  concurred  in  confirming  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Brougham.  At  length,  after  a  conference  of  some 
hours,  the  princess  was  prevailed  upon,  with  great  difficulty,  to 
return  to  her  fathei''s  residence,  though  she  expressed  her  will- 
ingness so  to  do,  amid  a  flood  of  tears.  She  was  accompanied 
thither  by  the  Duke  of  York  and  her  governess  ;  and  she  arrived 
between  four  and  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.*     The  rage  of  the 

*  There  was  a  Westminster  election  then  in  progress  in  consequence  of  Lord 
Cochrane's  expulsion  from  Parliament,  and  it  is  said  that  on  her  complaining  to 
Mr.  Brougham  that  he  too  was  deserting  her  in  the  hour  of  her  need,  and  leav- 
ing her  in  her  father's  power  when  the  people  would  have  stood  by  her — he 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF  GEOEGE   THE   FOUETH.  361 

Prince  Regent,  when  informed  of  this  defeated  escapade^  was 
boundless,  and  the  princess  was  immediately  rembved  to  the 
hateful  seclusion  of  Cranbourne  Lodge.  Previous  to  this  incident, 
she  had  declined  the  matrimonial  offers  of  the  eldest  son  of  the 
King  of  Holland.  Her  father  was  greatly  in  favor  of  the  match ; 
but  the  repugnance  of  the  princess  to  it  was  insuperable.  After 
her  removal  to  Windsor  Forest  she  persisted  in  this  feeling  with 
such  invincible  earnestness  that  the  project  was  eventually  aban- 
doned. Said  she  :  "  I  am  resolved  never  to  marry  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  If  it  shall  be  seen  that  such  a  match  is  announced,  I 
wish  this  my  declaration  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  it  will  be  a 
marriage  without  my  consent  and  against  my  will ;  and  I  desire 
the  Duke  of  Sussex  and  Mr.  Brougham  to  take  particular  notice 
of  this."  The  determination  of  the  princess,  which  was  in  part 
ascribed  by  her  father  to  the  adverse  influence  of  her  mother, 
irritated  his  haughty  and  unprincipled  spirit  beyond  measure. 

The  bitter  persecutions  which  the  Princess  of  Wales  had 
endured,  rendered  her  weary  of  the  land  in  which  she  had  expe- 
rienced so  many  sorrows  ;  and  she  now  adopted  the  resolution  to 
spend  some  time  in  travel  on  the  continent.  Her  best  advisers 
warned  her  against  this  course.  Mr.  Brougham,  foreseeing  the  fatal 
consequences  of  a  foreign  residence  to  such  a  woman  placed  in 
such  peculiar  circumstances,  assured  her  that  he  would  willingly 
answer  by  his  head  for  her  safety  both  of  person  and  reputation 
if  she  remained  in  England;  but  that,  if  she  journeyed  abroad,  he 

took  her  to  the  window,  when  the  morning  had  just  dawned,  and,  pointing  to 
the  Park  and  the  spacious  streets  which  extended  before  her,  said  that  he  had 
only  to  show  her  a  few  hours  later,  on  the  spot  where  she  now  stood,  and  all  the 
people  of  that  vast  metropolis  would  be  gathered  together,  with  one  common 
feeling  in  her  behalf;  but  that  the  triumph  of  one  hour  would  be  dearly  pur- 
chased by  the  pernicious  consequences  which  must  assuredly  follow  in  the  next, 
when  the  troops  poured  in  and  quelled  all  resistance  to  the  clear  and  undoubted 
law  of  the  land,  with  an  immense  effusion  of  blood  ;  nay,  that  through  the  rest 
of  her  life  she  never  would  escape  the  odium  which,  in  this  country,  always  at- 
tends those  who,  by  breaking  the  law,  occasion  such  calamities.  This  consid- 
eration, much  more  than  any  quailing  of  her  dauntless  spirit,  or  ftvltering  of  her 
filial  affection,  is  believed  to  have  weighed  upon  her  mind,  and  induced  her  to 
return  home.    Edinhurg  Eeview  for  April,  1838,  p.  220. 

16 


362  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

would  not  answer  for  either  for  an  hour.  But  Caroline  never 
listened  to  good  counsel  when  she  had  once  made  up  her  mind, 
although  all  her  wisest  friends,  excepting  Mr.  Canning,  united  in 
an  opinion  adverse  to  her  own.  Accordingly  she  addressed  a 
letter  to  Lord  Liverpool  informing  him  of  her  purpose,  and  in- 
quiring whether  there  would  be  any  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
government  to  its  realization.  He  replied  by  order  of  the  Eegent 
that  there  would  be  none  whatever  ;  and  that  amiable  prince  on 
the  day  of  her  subsequent  embarkation  honored  the  event  by  a 
toast  at  his  table,  which  was  unequivocally  expressive  of  his  grat- 
ification at  her  departure.*  On  the  9th  of  August,  1816,  the 
princess  went  on  board  the  Jason  frigate,  commanded  by  Captam 
King,  accompanied  by  her  suite.  A  vast  multitude  lined  the 
beach,  who  extended  to  the  unfortunate  traveller  a  subdued  but 
respectful  farewell.  Her  first  destination  was  Hamburg,  thence 
she  proceeded  to  her  native  Brunswick.  She  assumed  the  less 
imposing  title  of  Countess  of  Cornwall,  and  passed  some  weeks 
in  Switzerland  in  the  society  of  the  Ex-Empress,  Maria  Louisa. 
Thence  she  journeyed  to  Milan.  It  was  at  this  city  that  a  por- 
tion of  her  English  suite,  having  become  disgusted  with  the  ex- 
cessive freedom  and  improprieties  of  her  behavior,  deserted  her  ; 
and  here,  in  substituting  others  in  their  stead,  she  first  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Bartholomew  Bergami,  an  impoverished  Italian 
nobleman,  with  whom  she  was  afterwards  charged  with  having 
committed  repeated  and  habitual  adultery.  And  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that,  if  merely  indecorous  and  imprudent  conduct  can  be  re- 
garded as  a  conclusive  evidence  of  guilt  in  a  woman,  the  princess 
furnished  ample  cause  for  comdction. 

The  wandering  and  uneasy  princess  ^^sited  all  the  principal 
cities  of  Italy.  She  purchased  a  villa  on  the  flowery  and  umbra- 
geous banks  of  the  placid  Lake  of  Como,  which  was  "built  of  red 
and  white  marble,  with  gilded  apartments  and  ceilings  painted 
by  the  skilful  pencils  of  Italian  artists.  Here  she  spent  some 
months  in  the  enjoyment  of  luxurious  ease,  and  perhaps  finding 

*  "  To  the  Princess  of  "Wales,  damnation  ;  and  may  she  never  return  to  Eng- 
land."   JJoran'B  Queens  of  England,  ii.,  p.  297. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTn.  363 

in  the  society  of  her  chamberlain,  the  handsome  and  amiable 
Bergami,  that  pleasure  which  she  had  hoped  to  find  in  the  mar- 
riage relation,  but  to  which  she  had  ever  been  a  stranger.  Soon 
all  her  English  attendants  deserted  her,  and  she  substituted  others 
in  their  stead  who  were  natives  of  the  land  of  her  sojourn. 
After  some  months  spent  at  Como,  she  continued  her  travels, 
visiting  Sicily,  Palestine,  Tunis,  Greece,  and  Turkey.  From  in- 
specting the  antique  wonders  of  the  romantic  and  historic  East 
she  returned  to  Europe.  Passing  through  Vienna  she  reached 
Carlsruhe.  She  was  sojourning  at  Trieste,  still  enamored  of  the 
graceful  Bergami,  and  devoted  to  his  person,  when,  in  January, 
1820,  the  death  of  the  aged  monarch  George  III.  elevated  her  to 
the  rank  of  Queen  Consort  of  the  British  realms. 

During  this  unpropitious  absence  of  the  princess  on  the  con- 
tinent, several  important  incidents  had  occurred  in  which  both 
herself  and  her  husband  were  deeply  interested.  Their  daughter, 
the  Princess  Charlotte,  having  absolutely  refused  to  marry  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  had  subsequently  become  the  wife  of  Prince 
Leopold,  of  Saxe-Cobourg,  This  match  was  one  of  real  affection, 
and  the  few  months  of  married  life  which  the  princess  enjoyed 
were  by  far  the  happiest  period  of  her  life.  But  this  halcyon  in- 
terval of  love  and  bliss  was  destined  to  be  of  short  duration.  She 
expired  in  childbed,  after  having  given  birth  to  a  still-born 
infant,  on  the  6th  of  November,  1817.  The  unexpected  intelli- 
gence of  her  death  was  received  by  the  nation  with  universal 
sorrow.  Before  the  orders  for  mourning  could  be  issued  to  the 
populace,  every  rank  and  grade  had  already  and  spontaneously 
anticipated  them.  All  public  places  of  amusement  were  volun- 
tarily closed ;  the  churches  were  hung  with  black ;  domestic 
entertainments  and  marriages  were  suspended ;  business  Avas 
postponed ;  and  the  unparalleled  spectacle  was  presented  of  a 
whole  community  being  bowed  to  the  earth  by  the  crushing  weight 
of  a  real,  incalculable,  universal  sorrow.  The  pulpits  resounded 
with  funereal  eulogies  on  the  departed  princess  ;  and  the  occasion 
was  rendered  memorable,  among  other  minor  incidents,  by  the 
delivery  of  that  matchless  and  magnificent  discourse  by  Robert 


364:  HISTOET   OF   THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

Hall,  -which  will  remain  to  the  end  of  time  one  of  the  great  master- 
pieces of  British  eloquence  and  genius. 

During  the  absence  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  on  the  continent, 
exaggerated  reports  of  the  indelicacy  and  even  the  guilt  of  her 
behavior  had  reached  England;  and  the  Prince  Regent,  eager 
to  find  causes  of  offense  against  his  unhappy  wife,  had  sent  a 
commission  to  Milan,  composed  of  men  of  respectability,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  the  princess,  to  take 
evidence  of  her  former  and  present  behavior,  and  report  the 
results  of  their  researches.  Caroline  was  not  aware  of  the 
existence  of  these  spies,  or  of  the  scrutiny  and  surveillance  which 
they  exercised  over  her  daily  life ;  and  never  did  her  habitual 
want  of  caution  lead  her  to  a  greater  degree  of  imprudence,  and 
disregard  of  decorous  appearances.  The  commissioners  returned 
to  England  furnished  with  sufficient  real  and  fabricated  evidence 
to  place  the  conduct  and  character  of  the  nomade  princess  in  no 
very  favorable  light.  On  the  strength  of  their  representations 
the  prince  would  have  taken  the  necessary  steps  to  procure  a 
divorce,  had  he  not  been  assured  by  the  friends  and  representa- 
tives of  the  princess,  that  she  never  intended  to  return  to  Eng- 
land. In  1819  some  negotiations  had  taken  place  between  the 
hostile  pair,  by  which  it  was  understood  that,  as  long  as  the 
princess  received  her  annuity  of  fifty  thousand  pounds,  she  cared 
not  to  assume  the  title  of  queen.  But  no  sooner  was  George  III. 
dead,  and  quietly  inurned,  than  the  princess  announced  her 
determination  to  return  to  England  and  demand  the  rank,  appoint- 
ments, and  dignities  of  queen.  When  this  purpose  became 
known  to  the  Prince  Regent,  who  had  become,  by  the  death  of 
his  father.  King  de  jure,  though  for  some  years  he  had  already 
been  King  de  facto,  he  expressed  his  determination  to  bring  the 
princess  to  trial  for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  She  met 
Mr.  Brougham  and  Lord  Hutchinson  at  St.  Omer,  on  her  rapid 
journey  to  England,  and  there  again  rejected  an  ofl^er  from  her 
husband  not  to  enter  his  dominions  on  condition  of  receiving  fifty 
thousand  pounds  during  the  remainder  of  her  life.  She  hastened 
on  to  Calais,  and  embarked  at  that  port  for  Dover.     During  her 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH.  365 

progress  from  Dover  to  London,  the  populace  poured  forth  by 
myriads  to  -welcome  a  woman  whose  persecutions  they  believed 
to  be  unparalleled.  She  took  up  her  residence  in  London,  in  the 
house  of  Alderman  Wood.  Immediately  after  her  arrival  a 
message  was  delivered  from  the  King  to  both  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment to  the  effect  that  some  information  would  be  laid  before  them 
containing  facts  of  great  importance  to  the  future  welfare  of  the 
country,  on  which  a  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties  against  the  queen 
would  be  based.  This  message  was  accompanied  by  documents 
which  set  forth  the  results  of  the  labors  of  the  Milan  Commission, 
which  had  been  composed  of  three  persons  ;  a  chancery  lawyer, 
who  had  never  examined  a  witness  in  his  life ;  a  colonel  in  the 
army,  who  knew  no  more  of  evidence  than  a  lunatic ;  and  a 
shrewd  attorney,  who,  though  sharp  and  sagacious,  was  totally 
devoid  of  integrity. 

The  advisers  of  the  king  in  these  proceedings  were  Lord 
Liverpool,  a  cautious,  unpretending  and  prudent  official  hack ; 
Lord  Castlereagh,  a  cunning,  cold,  and  circumspect  courtier; 
Lord  Eldon,  a  far-sighted,  learned,  and  profound  jurist,  and  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  a  firm,  bold,  and  resolute  soldier.  The 
defenders  of  the  queen  were  Henry  Brougham,  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  and  powerful  advocates  of  his  time ;  and  Mr.  Denman, 
a  lawyer  of  eminence,  who  united  greater  learning  and  legal 
acquirements  to  less  oratorical  ability,  than  his  associate.*  An 
effort  was  made  in  Parliament  by  Mr.  Wilberforce,  to  com- 
promise the  chronic  difficulties  between  the  parties  ;  but  with  no 
avail.  Caroline  boldly  demanded  that  she  should  receive  the 
appointments  and  prerogatives  of  Queen  of  England ;  that  her 
name  should  be  inserted  in  the  liturgy  and  read  in  the  churches  ; 
and  that,  in  all  respects,  the  usual  formalities  should  be  observed 
toward  her,^nd  in  the  maintenance  of  her  court,  which  appertained 
of  right  to  the  Queen  Consort.     All  these  demands  were  abhor- 

*  The  other  counsel  of  the  queen  who  played  a  less  distinguished  part  were 
Dr.  Lushington,  Mr.  Justice  'Williams,  and  Mr.  Sergeant  Wilde.  See  The  Trial 
ct  Large  of  Her  Majesty  Caroline  Amelia  Elizabeth,  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  dec.    2  vols.    Manchester :  J.  Gleave,  1821. 


366  HISTOET   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

rent  to  the  mind  of  the  indignant  and  hostile  king.  It  became 
perfectly  evident  that  the  day  of  conciliation  had  forever  passed 
by  ;  and  that  this  domestic  feud,  of  such  long  standing,  of  such 
intense  bitterness,  and  of  such  universal  notoriety,  could  only  be 
terminated  by  the  vexatious  vicissitudes  and  revolting  details  of 
a  public  and  j)rotracted  prosecution.  Mr.  Brougham,  on  the  part 
of  the  queen,  requested  a  postponement  of  two  months  from  the 
House  of  Lords,  in  order  that  the  accused  might  have  time  to 
prepare  her  defense.  The  request  was  granted.  The  interest 
which  the  nation  felt  in  the  approaching  scrutiny  was  intense  and 
universal ;  yet  all  their  sympathies  were  in  behalf  of  the  defend- 
ant. After  the  designated  interval  had  elapsed  the  hostile  parties 
— the  most  illustrious  personages  in  rank  in  the  realm — ^prepared 
to  confront  each  other ;  and  then  ensued  one  of  those  great  his- 
torical "  trials  of  princes  "  which  have  marked  important  ej)Ochs 
in  human  history,  which  have  elicited  the  noblest  displays  of 
human  genius,  and  which  have  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
common  herd  of  mankind,  that  the  greatest  are  often  the  meanest 
and  most  miserable  of  their  race. 


CHAPTER   V. 


Commencement  of  the  Scrutiny— The  Famous  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties— The  Queen's 
Accusers  and  Defenders — Imposing  Scene  in  the  House  of  Lords — Distinguished 
Kank  of  the  Judges,  Accuser,  Defendant,  and  Counsel — Examination  of  the  Wit- 
nesses— Learning  and  Acuteness  of  Messrs.  Denman  and  Brougham — Overwhelming 
Power  of  their  Eloquence — The  Virtual  Triumph  of  the  Queen — The  Withdrawal 
of  the  Bill — Exultation  of  her  Friends — Popular  Kejoiclngs  and  Processions — Morti- 
fication and  Malignity  of  the  King. 


The  peers  determined  to  commence  the  proceedings  in  this 
memorable  cause  by  appointing  a  secret  committee  to  examine 
the  report  of  the  Milan  Commission,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
guided  thereby  in  the  adoption  of  their  subsequent  course.  The 
queen  by  her  counsel  protested  against  any  secret  proceedings  in 
the  case  whatever ;  and  demanded  that  she  should  be  represented 
by  her  legal  advisers  before  any  inquisition  which  should  apper- 
tain to  the  trial.  The  peers  refused  to  acquiesce  in  this  demand, 
and  the  secret  committee  proceeded  to  the  performance  of  their 
duty.  They  made  their  report  to  the  House  on  the  first  day  of 
July,  1820 ;  and  they  therein  set  forth  that  the  documents  de- 
nominated the  !Milan  papers  contained  cliarges  aflecting  the  honor 
and  tarnishing  the  character  of  the  queen,  which  amounted  in 
substance  to  the  allegation  of  adultery  ;  and  that  these  charges 
were  accompanied  by  concurrent  and  corroborative  testimony. 
After  this  report  had  been  officially  made,  Lord  Liverpool,  on 
the  part  of  the  king,  introduced  his  famous  Bill  of  Pains  and 
Penalties  against  the  queen,  involving  the  pmiishment  of  degra- 
dation and  divorce.  This  event  occurred  in  the  British  House  of 
Peers,  on  the  5th  of  July,  1820. 


368  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

The  first  step  of  the  defendant  was  to  demand  that  she  should 
be  furnished  with  a  statement  of  the  specific  charges  made  against 
her,  together  with  the  names  of  the  intended  witnesses,  and  the 
dates  and  places  of  the  alleged  offences.  To  this  reasonable 
request  the  lords  refused  to  accede.  The  utmost  minuteness  of 
detail  which  was  allowed  the  accused  was  a  declaration  that  she 
was  charged  with  scandalous  and  vicious  conduct  with  one  Bar- 
tholomew Bergami.  A  copy  of  the  bill  was  served  upon  her  by 
Sir  Thomas  Tyrwhitt.  She  received  it  with  a  degree  of  emotion 
which  she  was  unable  to  conceal ;  and  remarked  that,  had  the 
prosecution  been  commenced  a  quarter  of  a  century  earlier,  it  had 
served  the  purpose  of  her  royal  husband  better.  She  added  that 
the  injustice  of  the  course  adopted  by  the  ministers  was  apparent, 
because  they  fii'st  condemned  her  by  this  bill  without  proof,  and 
then  proceeded  to  inquire  what  evidence  might  be  obtained  to 
justify  the  condemnation. 

The  trial  began  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  17th  of  August. 
The  queen  had  expressed  her  determination  to  be  present  during 
its  progress ;  and  to  aid  in  the  fulfilment  of  this  purpose  she 
obtained  permission  from  the  widow  of  Sir  Philip  Francis  to 
occupy  her  residence  in  St.  James's  Square  during  the  continuance 
of  the  proceedings.  She  therefore  left  Brandenburgh  House, 
which  was  her  stated  residence,  and  removed  temporarily  to  the 
quarters  offered  her.  Her  next  door  neiglibor  was  her  most 
zealous  adversary,  Lord  Castlereagh.  In  her  passage  to  and  from 
the  House  of  Lords  she  passed  by  Carlton  House,  the  residence 
of  her  husband  ;  and  she  enjoyed  the  gratification  of  presenting  to 
his  detesting  eyes  each  day  the  spectacle  of  the  vast  multitudes 
of  the  populace  who  escorted  her  carriage,  and  of  saluting  his  ears 
with  the  unequivocal  plaudits  with  which  they  greeted  her.  She 
was  attended  on  these  occasions  by  Lady  Hamilton,  by  Alder- 
man Wood,  and  by  her  chamberlains  Sir  William  Gell  and  Mr. 
Keppel  Craven.  On  her  arrival  at  the  House  she  was  received 
by  Mr.  Brougham  and  Sir  Thomas  Tyrwhitt,  and  conducted  by 
them  to  the  apartment  assigned  to  her  use,  or  to  her  seat  in  the 
House,  each  holding  her  by  the  hand. 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   FOURTH.  369 

The  scene  presented  on  tliis  memorable  occasion  was  not 
devoid  of  that  imposing  splendor  and  magnificence  which  usually 
attend  the  great  state  trials  which  have  occurred  in  the  history  of 
Britain.  There  were  not  indeed  the  same  vast  assemblage,  the 
same  collection  of  all  that  was  noble,  beautiful,  and  distinguished 
in  the  realm,  the  same  impressive  ceremony  and  stately  pageantry 
which  attended  the  trial  of  Warren  Hastings ;  nor  the  same 
universal  deluge  of  popular  execration  and  fury  which  marked 
the  hour  when  Charles  I.  and  Lord  Strafford  defended  their  honor 
and  their  lives  against  the  most  malignant  and  unrelentuig  of 
persecutors  :  nor  were  the  interests  at  stake  of  such  extensive 
moment  and  such  vital  importance  to  a  great  community,  involv- 
ing  the  destinies  of  millions  in  the  issue,  as  when  that  unhappy 
monarch  vainly  sought  to  stem  the  tide  of  death  which  was  surg- 
ing resistlessly  around  him,  and  eventually  submerged  him 
beneath  its  billows.  But  there  were  other  interests  involved  in 
this  case  which  called  forth  intenser  sympathy  from  every  dis- 
passionate heart  in  the  empire.  There  was  a  woman,  well  ad- 
vanced in  years,  a  discarded  wife  and  bereaved  mother,  who,  after 
many  years  of  sorrow  and  persecution  from  her  husband,  was 
compelled  at  last  to  confront  the  worst  and  most  degrading 
calamity  which  his  malignity  could  inflict.  In  one  respect  she 
was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  The  monarch  himself  was  her 
bitterest  foe,  and  an  obsequious  nobility  cringed  at  his  feet  ready 
to  do  his  bidding  against  her.  But  she  remained  undaunted ;  and 
declared  that  she  felt  secure  in  the  consciousness  of  her  innocence, 
and  under  the  broad  protection  of  a  higher  power  than  that  of 
her  husband — the  protection  of  the  British  Constitution — yet  in 
her  case,  even  that  Constitution  was  about  to  be  violated,  as  it 
had  never  before  been  violated.  She  was  to  be  tried  for  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  was,  when  defending  herself 
against  a  charge  of  adultery,  to  be  deprived  of  the  immemorial 
privilege,  so  ancient  indeed  that  the  memory  of  man  ran  not  to 
the  contrary,  of  being  permitted  to  recriminate,  and  to  hurl  back 
upon  the  guilty  head  of  the  man  who  falsely  accused  her,  and 
strove  to  drag  her  down  to  ruin,  the  same  charge  which  he  him- 
16* 


370  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUK    GEORGES. 

self  preferred  against  her ;  and  prove  to  the  world  that,  while  she 
was  innocent,  he  was  one  of  the  most  licentious  and  libertine 
of  men.  Though  thus  shorn  of  the  rights  which  the  humblest 
subject  possessed — though  her  accuser  was  the  highest  in  the 
realm,  she  boldly  came  forward  to  the  scrutiny,  and  defied  the 
combined  power  of  her  enemies.*  Her  character  thus  assumed 
an  heroic  attitude,  and  challenged  not  only  sympathy  but  admi- 
ration. Other  elements  of  greatness  marked  the  scene.  The 
tribunal  before  which  this  dauntless  woman  thus  appeared,  com- 
prised the  most  ancient,  opulent,  and  illustrious  nobility  in  the 
world.  Among  them  were  the  descendants  of  men  who  had  assist- 
ed at  the  laying  of  the  foundation  of  the  British  Constitution,  and 
of  some  who  had  extorted  from  the  brutal  but  overborne  King 
John  the  Magna  Charta.  There  were  others  present  whose  an- 
cestors had  taken  a  part  in  the  most  brilliant  and  the  most  tragi- 
cal events  which  had  characterized  English  history  during  the 
long  lapse  of  a  thousand  years  ;  and  there  were  some  who  had 
themselves  played  a  distinguished  part  in  those  great  events  which, 
during  the  opening  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  had  convulsed 
Europe,  and  had  shattered  all  the  thrones,  dominions,  and  em- 
pires in  the  civilized  world. 

The  accused  in  this  grand  incjuest  was  not  unworthy  of  such 
judges.  She  was  the  descendant  of  an  ancient  line  of  princes,  who, 
though  not  kings  in  rank,  had  been  in  some  instances  more  illus- 
trious for  their  genius  and  achievements  than  any  contemporary 
king.  She  represented  in  her  own  person  a  portion  of  the 
highest  dignity,  in  perhaps  the  greatest  empire  then  existing. 
She  belonged  to  that  illustrious  line  of  personages  Avhich  included 
the  stately  Elizabeth,  and  the  beautiful  and  fascinating  Mary 
Queen  of  Scotts ;  and  she  exhibited  a  dauntless  spirit  which 
would  have  ennobled  either  of  them.  If  men  possessing  the 
matchless  power  of  Fox,  Sheridan,  and  Burke  no  longer  figured 
on  the  scene,  and  threw  over  it  the  splendid  and  gorgeous  halo 
of  their  genius,  there  were  other  actors  there,  who  were  worthy 

*  LettAv  of  Queen  Caroline  to  the  King  on  the  subject  of  tJie  Proceedings 
against  her,  with  a  Letter  from  Sir  G.  Noel.    Edinburg,  1820. 


LIFE   Al^D   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   FOURTH.  371 

to  occupy  their  places,  and  inherit  no  inconsiderable  portion  of 
their  fame.  The  injured  queen  was  to  be  defended  by  the  fervid 
and  declamatory  eloquence,  the  keen  and  penetrating  logic,  the 
bold  and  scathing  sarcasm  of  Brougham,  her  attorney,  and  by 
the  accurate  learning,  the  professional  skill,  and  the  clear,  con- 
clusive reasoning  of  Mr.  Denman,  her  solicitor.  And  that 
stately  hall  which  had  in  former  generations  so  often  resound- 
ed with  the  overwhelming  bursts  of  a  Chatham,  a  Mansfield, 
and  a  Somers,  was  now  destined  to  witness,  for  the  last  time, 
at  least  in  that  generation,  a  display  of  forensic  genius  which 
would  compare  favorably  with  the  most  renowned  exhibitions  of 
a  similar  description  in  preceding  times. 

On  the  morning  on  which  the  trial  commenced,  the  queen 
proceeded  in  state  to  the  House,  and  entered  while  the  roll  of  the 
peers  was  being  called.  She  was  plainly  but  elegantly  attired  in 
a  black  satin  dress,  with  a  white  veil  thrown  over  a  plain  laced 
hat.  As  she  entered,  all  the  peers  rose  to  receive  her,  and  she 
acknowledged  the  courtesy  with  that  graceful  dignity,  in  which 
she  excelled  all  women  when  she  chose  to  assume  it.  She  was 
conducted  to  the  handsome  throne-like  chair  and  cushion  provi- 
ded for  her,  near  her  counsel,  but  within  the  bar.  Several  days 
were  occupied  in  preliminary  proceedings.  On  the  19th  the 
attorney  for  the  crown  opened  his  case,  setting  forth  the  charges 
preferred  against  the  accused.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  speech 
the  examination  of  witnesses  commenced.  The  first  of  these  was 
the  most  important  of  all.  He  was  Theodore  Majocci,  an  Italian, 
who  had  been  employed  in  the  service  of  the  queen  during  her 
continental  tour.  As  soon  as  his  ominous  name  was  called,  the 
queen  exclaimed,  "  Oh !  the  traitor  ! "  and  withdrew  instantly  to 
her  apartment  adjacent  to  the  hall.  Majocci  swore  in  substance 
that  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel  in  which  the  queen  sailed  a  tent 
had  been  erected ;  that  the  queen  slept  within  that  tent ;  that  Ber- 
gami  her  chamberlain  also  reposed  there  ;  and  that  he  frequently 
attended  her  when  in  the  bath.  The  remainder  of  his  evidence 
amounted  to  but  little ;  yet  the  impression  produced  by  his  testi- 
mony was  at  first  deep  and  powerful.     The  adversaries  of  the 


372  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

queen  began  to  exult,  and  her  friends  to  be  less  confident.  The 
populace,  Avho  believed  Majoccito  have  been  bribed  and  therefore 
unworthy  of  credence,  became  intensely  irritated,  which  feeling 
extended  even  to  the  troops  who  formed  the  garrison ;  and  it  has 
been  asserted  by  authorities  worthy  of  belief  that,  had  the  Duke 
of  Kent,  the  most  popular  and  most  resolute  prince  of  the  royal 
family,  been  then  alive,  a  revolution  in  his  favor  would  have  broken 
forth  which  would  have  shaken  if  it  did  not  overturn  the  throne 
of  George  IV.  But  the  next  day  the  tide  of  victory  turned. 
Majocci  was  subjected  by  Mr.  Brougham  to  one  of  the  most 
thorough  and  searching  cross-examinations  recorded  in  judicial 
aimals.  He  tore  his  evidence  to  pieces  with  the  power  and  faci- 
lity of  a  giant.  He  overwhelmed  the  witness  with  confusion,  and 
even  with  terror.  He  dragged  from  him  one  contradiction  after 
another,  so  that  one  portion  of  his  testimony,  completely  rebutted 
the  other.  He  proved  by  the  witness  himself  that,  though  Ber- 
gami  slept  under  the  same  tent  with  the  queen,  the  tent  itself 
was  constantly  open  on  all  sides ;  that  the  intense  heat  of  the 
climate  rendered  such  a  usage  necessary,  as  well  as  universally 
customary;  and  that  the  prevalent  light  of  an  Italian  sky 
made  it  easy  for  any  intruder  at  any  hour  to  see  all  that  tran- 
spired beneath  the  loose  folds  of  the  tent.  He  proved  that, 
though  Bergami  had  attended  the  queen  in  the  bath,  she  uni- 
formly on  such  occasions  wore  a  bathing  dress  which  prevented 
the  least  indecorous  exposure  of  the  person.  Every  other  point 
of  this  witness's  testimony  was  rebutted  and  invalidated  in  the 
same  effective  manner.* 

The  examination  of  other  witnesses  followed,  all  of  whose 
testimony  only  proved  that,  encouraged  by  the  greater  licence  of 
continental  manners,  the  queen  had  been  guilty  of  what,  accord- 
ing to  English  views  of  decorum,  would  be  stigmatized  as 
gross  impropriety  and  very  great  imprudence,  both  in  language 
and  in  conduct.     But  of  satisfactory  and  competent  evidence  of 

*  See  flie  Trial  at  Large  of  Her  Majesty  Caroline  Amelia  Elizabeth,  Queen 
of  Great  Britain,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  <&c.  2  vols.  Manchester ;  Gleave, 
1821.    Vol.  ii.,  p.  210,  et  seq. 


LITE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   FOURTH.  373 

actual  guilt,  or  of  evidence  which,  by  a  fair  and  reasonable  infer- 
ence, would  conclusively  prove  to  an  impartial  mind  that  positive 
guilt  had  been  in  any  case  incurred,  there  was  absolutely  none. 
The  testimony  was  all  concluded  by  the  7th  of  September.  The 
house  adjourned  till  the  3d  of  October.  Mr.  Brougham  then 
entered  on  the  defense  of  his  client  in  a  speech  of  extraordinary 
power,  which  in  turn  exhibited  magnificent  displays  of  oratorical 
ability,  of  resistless  logic,  of  bold  and  scathing  sarcasm,  of  tender 
and  aflecting  pathos.  That  speech  is  immortal  in  English  his- 
tory. He  was  followed  by  his  associate,  in  an  oration  which,  if 
not  quite  equal  to  that  of  Mr.  Brougham,  was  still  worthy  of  the 
occasion.  During  its  delivery  he  gave  utterance  to  one  burst 
which  for  impressiveness  and  effect  reminded  the  hearer  of 
some  of  the  best  passages  of  the  great  masters  of  English  rhetoric 
and  forensic  genius.  Turnipg  his  eagle  eye  toward  the  Duke  of 
Clarence,  who  had  once  been  the  ardent  friend  of  the  queen,  but 
had  become  her  bitterest  enemy,  he  raised  his  sonorous  voice  and  ex- 
claimed in  a  tone  of  thunder  :  "  Come  forth,  thou  slanderer  !  "  in 
allusion  to  the  earnest  activity  exhibited  by  the  Duke  in  the  pro- 
secution of  the  accused.  The  orator's  power  was  evinced  by  the 
terror  which  racked  the  spirit  of  the  princely  personage,  who 
was  thus  made  tlie  deserving  victim  of  his  overwhelming  bolt.* 

The  testimony  which  was  produced  in  behalf  of  the  queen 
proved,  that  some  of  her  English  attendants  who  had  deserted  her 
when  abroad,  had  not  discovered  any  improprieties  in  her  conduct, 
and  had  left  her  only  on  account  of  ill-health.  Others  declared  that 
all  the  acts  of  impropriety  charged  and  proved  in  her  conduct 
in  Italy,  were  permitted  by  the  universally  prevalent  customs 
of  that  country,  and  in  themselves  involved  no  guilt,  nor  even  any 
impropriety.  Mr.  Craven  proved  that  he  himself  had  selected 
Bergami  as  the  chamberlain  of  the  queen,  and  that  he  brought 
most  excellent  testimonials  of  character  with  him.  After  the 
evidence  for  the  defense  closed,  the  deliberations  of  the  peers 
commenced.  Contrary  to  their  usual  custom  their  debates  were 
stormy.     When  at  last  the  vote  was  taken  on  one  clause  of  the 

*  See  Bichard  Bush's  Besidence  at  the  Court  of  St.  James. 


374:  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEOKGES. 

Bill,  the  majority  against  the  queen  was  twenty-eight.  When 
the  clause  touching  the  divorce  was  voted  upon,  their  majority 
was  only  nine  against  the  defendant.  As  this  was  the  precise 
number  of  peers  who  composed  the  cabinet,  this  ballot  instead  of 
being  a  victory  was  in  reality  a  defeat.  In  this  emergency  the 
ministers  resolved  to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  abandon  the 
prosecution,  while  they  seemed  to  have  the  eclat  of  at  least  a 
nommal  triumph.  But  that  triumph  was  only  nominal.  In  the 
opinion  of  the  nation,  the  accused  had  at  last  conquered  the  most 
formidable  combination  which  was  ever  arrayed  against  a  British 
queen ;  and  she  was  yet,  in  spite  of  the  utmost  exertions  of  the 
haughty  monarch  of  the  British  empire,  his  lawful  wife,  and  the 
partner  of  his  power.  The  exultation  of  the  populace  at  this 
result  was  intense  beyond  all  parallel ;  and  their  joy  was  ex- 
hibited in  a  variety  of  ways  which  must  have  been  as  amioying  to 
the  king,  as  they  were  gTateful  to  his  discai'ded  wife. 

Immediately  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Bill  the  queen  applied 
to  Lord  Liverpool  to  be  furnished  with  a  suitable  residence  and 
provision  as  Queen  Consort.  He  replied  that,  though  the  king 
would  not  permit  her  to  reside  in  any  of  the  royal  palaces,  she 
should  regularly  receive  the  fifty  thousand  pounds  per  year 
which  was  her  present  allowance.  About  the  same  period  she 
received  the  communion  in  the  parish  church  at  Hammersmith  ; 
and  on  the  29th  of  November  she  proceeded  in  as  much  i^ate  as 
she  could  muster  to  the  cathedral  of  St.  Paul,  to  return  thanks  to 
God  for  her  escape  from  the  assaults  of  her  enemies.  The  indig- 
nant king  did  his  utmost  to  render  this  event  insignificant  and 
abortive.  To  some  extent  he  succeeded.  No  change  took  place 
in  the  appointed  service  of  the  day ;  her  whole  court  consisted 
of  her  vice-chancellor  Mr.  Craven  ;  but  her  attendance  comprised 
a  vast  multitude  of  the  populace  of  London,  some  on  foot,  on 
horseback,  and  in  vehicles.  Conspicuous  in  the  procession  were 
the  various  trades ;  among  whom  the  braziers  distinguished  them- 
selves by  perpetrating  a  significant  pun.  On  their  bamier  were 
inscribed  the  words  :  "  The  Queen's  Guards  are  Men  of  Metal." 
The  day  passed  by  without  tumult  or  accident ;  and  the  queen 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTn.  375 

returned  to  Brandenburgh  House  to  the  enjoyment  of  that  seclu- 
sion and  quiet  Avhich  she  imperatively  needed.* 

*  It  was  a  significant  circumstance,  which  exhibited  the  intensity  with  which 
George  IV.  hated  his  unhappy  spouse,  and  which  at  the  same  time  displayed  the 
despicable  subserviency  of  some  of  the  clergy  of  the  Establishment  to  the  be- 
hests of  those  in  high  places,  even  though  they  were  the  most  infamous  of  men, 
that  the  parenthetical  clause  in  the  prayer  of  general  thanksgiving,  which  is  in- 
tended for  any  individual  who  desires  to  offer  thanks  and  gratitude  to  God,  and 
which  was  very  appropriate  to  the  purpose  of  the  queen  on  this  occasion,  and 
was  intended  to  be  used  by  her,  was  omitted,  contrary  to  the  established  custom 
and  obligation,  by  the  officiating  priest,  while  the  queen  was  upon  her  knees  on 
the  floor  of  the  cathedral  1  It  would  be  difficult  to  discover  a  more  disgraceful 
instance  of  the  want  of  Christian  feeling,  even  in  the  annals  of  ecclesiastical 
bigotry  and  perfidy. 


CHAPTEE  YI, 


Preparations  for  the  Coronation  of  George  IV. — Intense  interest  felt  by  him  in  the  Cere- 
mony— Determination  of  Queen  Caroline  to  be  present — Efforts  made  to  dissuade 
her  from  so  doing — Her  Unconquerable  Obstinacy — Splendor  and  Magnificence  of 
the  Ceremony — Effort  of  the  Queen  to  gain  admission  to  the  Abbey — Her  Igno- 
minious Failure — Her  Dreadful  Mortification — The  efifect  produced  by  it  upon  her 
Health — Her  immediate  and  rapid  Decline— Her  Death— Her  Character — Malignant 
Hatred  of  her  Husband — His  Joy  at  her  Death — Eemoval  of  her  Remains  to  Bruns- 
wick— Her  BuriaL 


A  DiSTixGuisHED  event  in  the  life  of  so  commonplace  a  per- 
sonage as  George  IV.,  was  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation,  which 
took  place  on  the  19th  of  July,  1821.  He  had  set  his  heart 
upon  rendering  this  celebration  of  the  most  ancient  of  the  stately 
pomps  and  pageantries  of  England,  unequalled  for  its  imposing 
magnificence.  The  necessary  preparations  had  been  in  progress 
during  many  months.  All  the  resources  of  mechanical  art,  of 
antiquarian  learning,  and  of  heraldic  skill  in  the  realm,  were  called 
into  requisition  and  tasked  to  the  utmost.  A  million  pounds 
were  expended  by  an  unwilling  people,  whose  national  debt 
already  exceeded  the  debts  of  all  other  nations  on  the  globe,  in 
order  to  increase  the  eclat  and  the  splendors  of  one  of  the  most 
undeserving  of  mankind.  George  IV.  employed  the  labor  of 
entire  days  in  rehearsing  his  part ;  and  he  displayed  the  childish 
ardor  of  an  overgroAvn  boy,  in  enacting  that  portion  of  the  gor- 
geous mummeries  which  would  fall  to  his  share.  The  costume 
which  he  was  destined  to  wear  on  the  occasion,  became  a  matter 
of  insatiable  and  absorbing  interest  to  his  mind  ;  he  entered  into 
long  discussions  with  his  friends  in  reference  to  the  most  puerile 
questions  of  colors,  fashions,  contrasts,  and  effects ;  and  when  at 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH.  377 

last  the  jewelled  robes  which  were  to  deck  his  stately  person 
were  completed,  he  had  no  rest  until  one  of  his  servants  was 
arrayed  in  their  ample  and  glittering  folds,  and  paraded  up  and 
down  before  him  with  an  assumed  and  fictitious  air  of  kingly 
dignity,  such  as  he  himself  exhibited  on  all  public  occasions. 

The  unhappy  and  injured  wife  of  the  man  who  was  to  be 
the  chief  figure  in  these  expensive  but  transient  grandeurs,  was 
not  invited  to  take  the  least  share  in  them.  In  May,  preceding 
the  event,  she  addressed  a  letter  to  Lord  Liverpool,  setting  forth 
that,  as  Queen  Consort,  it  was  her  right  and  intention  to  partici 
pate  Avith  her  husband  in  the  ceremonial.  The  prime  minister 
replied  that  his  majesty  had  determined,  for  various  conclusive 
reasons,  that  she  should  not  be  recognized  in  any  way  in  the  pro- 
ceedings, and  that  consequently  she  could  not  even  be  permitted 
to  be  present.  Her  legal  advisers,  Messrs.  Brougham  and  Den- 
man,  then  demanded  a  hearing  in  her  behalf,  before  the  Privy 
Council.  Their  request  was  complied  with,  as  a  matter  of  form  ; 
but  after  an  elaborate  argument  had  been  made  on  both  sides, 
that  tribunal  decided  that  the  Queen  Consort  of  England  was  not 
entitled  of  right  to  be  crowned  at  any  time  ;  much  less  could  she 
claim  to  be  crowned  at  any  particular  period  which  she  might 
designate  ;  and  that  the  presence  of  the  queen  on  the  approach- 
ing occasion,  as  it  must  be  irregular  and  unauthorized,  and  as  it 
might  lead  to  serious  difficulties,  must  be  absolutely  forbidden 
and  prevented. 

But  the  resolute  Caroline  was  not  to  be  thus  satisfied  and  quiet- 
ed. She  determined  with  her  usual  imprudence  and  obstinacy 
to  disturb  and  tarnish  the  splendor  of  a  pageant  in  which  she 
could  have  no  honorable  share ;  and  thus  to  mortify  tlie  man 
whom  of  all  others  she  most  intensely  and  most  reasonably 
hated.  She  formally  notified  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  Earl 
Marshal  of  the  realm,  of  her  intention  to  be  present ;  and  re- 
quested that  his  grace  would  make  proper  preparations  to  receive 
her.  This  demand  the  earl  civilly  evaded,  and  declared  that  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  obey  her  command.  She  then  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  setting  forth 


378  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOUK   GEORGES. 

her  desire  to  be  crowned  either  on  the  same  day  and  in  the  same 
ceremony  with  her  husband,  or  very  soon  afterward.  But  the 
crafty  churchman  answered  that  he  was  ready  at  any  moment  to 
obey  any  commands  which  he  might  receive  from  his  majesty. 
The  queen  terminated  these  futile  and  vexatious  preliminaries 
by  sending  the  king  a  sarcastic  protest,  declaring  his  proposed 
coronation  informal,  unjust  and  invalid.  Thus  far  indeed  the 
conduct  of  the  unfortunate  princess  was  consistent,  defiant,  and 
not  undignified  ;  and  had  she  stopped  at  this  point,  it  had  been 
well  for  her  future  happiness  and  reputation.  But  such  a  degree 
of  prudence  and  moderation  was  not  to  be  found  among  the  char- 
acteristics of  Caroline  of  Brunswick.  She  resolved  to  go  much 
further,  aiid  was  eventually  guilty  of  extremes  of  impropriety 
and  violence,  which  deprived  her  of  the  sympathy  of  the  nation, 
and  rendered  her  conduct  and  character  repulsive  and  ridiculous 
in  the  highest  degree. 

At  length  the  memorable  coronation  day  of  George  IV. 
dawned  upon  the  world  in  serene  brightness  and  splendor. 
Five  hundred  thousand  people  crowded  the  streets  of  the  metrop- 
olis, to  become  witnesses  of  different  portions  of  the  proceedings. 
Westminster  Abbey,  the  most  venerable  and  imposing  edifice  in 
the  kingdom,  was  fitted  up  with  gorgeous  hangings  and  glitter- 
ing canopies,  to  add  impressive  effect  to  the  ceremonies.  The 
far-extending  galleries  which  occupy  a  portion  of  the  stately  pile, 
were  crowded,  at  an  early  hour,  with  all  that  was  most  noble, 
beautiful,  and  distinguished  in  the  realm.  The  central  space  in 
front  of  the  chief  altar  was  graced  by  a  platform,  supporting  a 
throne  of  imposing  splendor,  which  was  surrounded  by  a  host  of 
illustrious  personages  who  were  to  enact  a  part  on  the  memora- 
ble occasion.  The  body  of  the  building,  and  the  capacious  aisles 
were  appropriated  to  a  miscellaneous  and  martial  host,  whose 
waving  plumes,  military  costumes,  and  polished  arms  added  to 
the  grandeur  and  majesty  of  the  scene.  The  king  proceeded  in 
great  state  from  Carlton  House  to  the  Abbey ;  and  there,  after 
being  robed,  he  took  his  seat  on  the  throne,  and  the  ceremonies 
began.     So  far  as  outward  appearance  was  concerned,  he  looked 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE  FOURTIT.  379 

indeed  like  a  mon.arch.  The  proceedings  were  long,  and  the  cer- 
emonial tedious.  Many  distinguished  noblemen  figured  in  the 
pageant.  Lord  Londonderry,  who  was  arrayed  in  the  magnifi- 
cent robes  of  the  Garter,  was  a  splendid  representation  of  the 
Order  established  by  Edward  111.,  among  whose  members  so 
many  illustrious  persons  had  been  enrolled.  The  Marquis  of  An- 
glcsea,  though  he  had  left  a  severed  leg  to  moulder  on  the  blood- 
stained plain  of  Waterloo,  still  exhibited  unrivalled  skill  in  the 
management  of  his  horse,  and  was  especially  admired ;  and  in 
this  respect  the  animal  divided  equally  with  his  courtly  rider  the 
enthusiastic  praise  of  the  brilliant  assemblage,  by  retiring  back- 
ward from  the  hall,  easily,  decorously,  and  without  any  accident. 
The  Champion  of  England  was  represented  by  the  youthful  Dy- 
moke  ;  who  threw  down  his  gauntlet  with  a  very  imposing  air 
of  defiance  to  all  the  world.  But  the  most  interesting  personage 
who  appeared  on  the  occasion,  and  to  whom  all  eyes  were  direct- 
ed with  intense  curiosity,  because  he  was  a  real,  and  not  merely 
a  scenic  hero,  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  He  took  a  prom- 
inent part  in  the  ceremonies ;  and  no  one  could  look  upon  his 
rigid  features,  battered  by  the  storms  of  a  hundred  conflicts,  with- 
out reflecting  how,  in  the  stern  presence  of  the  great  master  spirits 
of  the  world,  those  whom  birth  and  accident  have  pushed  forward 
and  upward  into  prominence,  dwindle  into  their  native  and 
genuine  insignificance.  The  evidence  of  tliis  fact  was  specially  seen 
in  the  box  which  was  assigned  to  the  foreign  ambassadors ;  which 
itself  contained  many  personages  who  had  played  a  distinguished 
part  in  the  events  of  their  time.  That  box  glittered  as  if  in  a  blaze 
of  light,  in  consequence  of  the  profusion  of  jewels  which  were  worn 
by  its  occupants.  Prince  Esterhazy,  the  Austrian  ambassador, 
was  arrayed  in  a  dress,  the  value  of  which  was  a  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds.  Other  representatives  of  foreign  potentates  almost 
equalled  the  magnificence  which  he  displayed.  Yet  the  interest 
of  all  these  high  and  great  personages  was  constantly  centred  on 
the  person  and  the  proceedings  of  the  conqueror  of  the  Corsican. 
He  bore  himself  proudly  throughout  the  imposing  mummery  ; 
and  even  the  king,  who  enjoyed  such  stately  scenes  with  exquis- 


380  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOrE   GEOEGES. 

ite  relish,  expressed  his  unqualified  admiration  of  the  immortal 
Duke.  The  declining  sun  cast  his  mellowed  rays  through  the 
stained  windows  of  the  vast  Gothic  edifice,  throwing  a  golden 
radiance  over  the  whole  majestic  scene,  before  the  lengthy  cere- 
monies were  terminated.  During  one  day  at  least,  George  IV. 
was  satiated  with  glory — with  that  species  of  grandeur  of  which 
alone  he  was  capable.  At  length  all  was  over ;  the  crowned 
king  and  his  crowd  of  nobles  returned  in  state  to  the  royal  pal- 
ace ;  the  vast  assemblage  retired  from  the  abbey ;  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  capital  celebrated  the  occasion  in  their 
myriad  homes,  during  the  ensuing  night,  by  festivals,  bonfires, 
and  every  species  of  popular  exultation. 

But  a  single  incident  occurred  on  this  day  which  threatened 
to  mar  its  pomp  and  splendor.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
Queen  Caroline,  burning  with  indignation  and  eager  in  her  ob- 
stinacy, proceeded  froin  her  residence  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  six 
horses  to  Westminster  Abbey.  She  was  accompanied  by  Lord 
and  Lady  Hood,  and  Lady  Anne  Hamilton,  her  most  intimate 
friends,  who  in  fact  then  constituted  her  whole  suit.  She  took 
this  desperate  step  in  defiance  of  the  earnest  solicitations  of  Mr. 
Brougham,  her  chief  legal  adviser,  who  readily  perceived  the  un- 
fortunate results  which  would  inevitably  ensue  from  it.  But  no 
power  on  earth  could  change  her  purpose ;  and  she  hastened  to 
execute  it.  As  she  passed  along  the  streets,  she  was  greeted  by 
the  noisy  acclamations  of  the  multitude.  Having  arrived  at  the 
Abbey,  she  descended  from  her  carriage  amid  long  and  deafening 
shouts.  She  advanced  between  the  lines  of  soldiery  to  the  chief 
door,  followed  by  her  three  friends.  Her  manner  was  stately, 
self-possessed,  and  resolute.  Having  reached  the  door,  she  ap- 
proached the  officer  on  guard,  stated  that  she  was  the  queen,  and 
demanded  admission  to  the  interior.  The  officer  declined  to  let 
her  pass,  on  the  ground  that  his  orders  were  to  admit  no  one 
who  was  not  provided  with  a  ticket.  Lord  Hood  then  spoke, 
and  claimed  exemption  for  her  in  consequence  of  her  rank. 
The  officer  nevertheless  refused  to  admit  her,  even  though  she 
■were,  as  she  said,  the  Queen  of  England.     During  the  progress 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH.  381 

of  this  parley,  the  multitude  which  surrounded  the  edifice  main- 
tained unbroken  silence,  anxious  to  see  what  would  be  the  issue 
of  the  strancre  and  doubtful  crisis.  Caroline  then  addressed  the 
officer  sternly,  and  exclaimed :  "  I  am  your  queen  ;  permit  me 
to  enter  ;  it  is  my  right."  In  vain  she  repeated  the  demand  ;  the 
obstinate  official  refused  to  comply  ;  and  the  company  of  soldiers 
who  stood  at  his  back  were  ready  to  enforce  obedience  to  his 
orders.  Perceiving  at  length  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  suc- 
ceed at  the  chief  entrance,  the  discomfited  queen  hurried  along 
the  platform  from  one  side  door  to  another,  repeating  at  each  of 
them  her  demand  for  admittance,  and  receiving  at  each  a  pos- 
itive, and  even  an  insulting  denial.  At  last,  having  exhausted 
every  means  of  solicitation  and  intimidation  in  vain,  she  was 
rudely  turned  off  the  platform  by  several  of  the  attendant  sol- 
diery. Here  her  resolute  heart  failed  her,  as  well  it  might ;  for 
she  now  stood  in  the  curious  and  derisive  gaze  of  the  multitude, 
attempting  to  laugh,  while  in  reality  the  tears  of  mortification 
and  rage  were  forcing  their  way  to  her  eyes,  and  rolling  down 
her  cheeks.  She  looked  around  her,  as  she  moved  irresolutely, 
sometimes  appealing  by  her  troubled  glances  to  the  people  who 
had  so  shortly  before  applauded  her,  but  who  now  remained 
dumb  and  indifferent  in  the  moment  of  her  greatest  necessity ; 
and  sometimes  looking  at  the  edifice  which  she  had  so  unwisely 
endeavored  to  enter,  but  from  which  she  had  been  so  ignomin- 
iously  excluded.  As  she  stood  in  this  painful  reverie,  the  distant 
sounds  of  the  approach  of  her  huband's  gorgeous  cortege  reached 
her  ears.  In  a  few  moments  he  would  pass  along  that  same 
platform  arrayed  in  the  extreme  of  human  pomp.  Even  the  de- 
termined and  inflexible  spirit  of  Caroline  quailed  at  sufi(?ring  such 
an  encounter  as  that  would  have  been  ;  and  she  had  but  time  to 
hasten  to  her  carriage,  followed  by  her  three  friends,  and  drive 
rapidly  away,  before  the  head  of  the  procession  which  escorted  the 
exultant  king  appeared  in  sight.  The  unfortunate  queen  retired 
to  her  residence,  but  she  carried  back  with  her  a  poisoned  barb 
which  was  destined  to  rankle  and  fester  in  her  heart,  until  the 
agony  of  life  became  unendurable.     She  was  conscious  that  she 


382  HISTORY   OF  THE   FOFE   GEOKGES. 

had  lost  the  applause  of  the  populace  ;  that  she  had  incurred  the 
derision  of  the  nation  ;  and  that  her  hostile  and  malignant  hus- 
band had  at  last,  in  consequence  of  her  own  imprudence,  gained 
a  decisive  victory  over  her,  in  which  he  would  rejoice,  and  over 
which  she  would  mourn,  as  long  as  the  bitter  drama  of  her  ex- 
istence continued. 

A  few  days  after  the  coronation,  the  king  celebrated  the  event 
by  giving  a  sumptuous  banquet  at  Carlton  House.  The  royal 
family  were  all  in  attendance,  except  the  queen,  and  the  Duke  of 
Sussex,  who  entertained  friendly  sentiments  toward  her.  The 
chief  nobility  of  the  realm,  the  foreign  ambassadors,  and  many 
eminent  statesmen  were  also  present.  The  company  arrived  at 
seven  in  the  evening,  and  remained  till  two  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing. The  entire  dinner  service  was  of  gold ;  and  its  magnifi- 
cence was  luisurpassed  by  any  previous  display  of  royal  or  im- 
perial opulence  in  Europe.  In  a  festive  scene,  George  IV.  was 
in  his  elcinent,  as  much  as  on  any  occasion  of  pompous  parade  ; 
and  he  presided  at  this  dinner  with  more  than  his  usual  dignity 
and  grace.  Here  also  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  in  reality 
the  chief  personage  present,  and  was  the  object  of  general  atten- 
tion to  the  most  brilliant  assemblage  in  the  world. 

While  these  joyful  scenes  were  progressing  at  the  Carl- 
ton Palace,  the  heart  of  Queen  Caroline  was  breaking  in  the 
seclusion  of  her  own  home  at  Brandenburg  House.  The  agita- 
tion and  excitement  to  which  she  had  been  subject  for  many 
months,  together  with  the  deep  chagrin  and  mortification  with 
which  she  had  been  afflicted  on  the  coronation  day,  produced  a 
diseased  state  of  her  system  which  proved  to  be  beyond  the  reach 
of  human  remedy.  Her  physicians  were  Doctors  Maten,  War- 
ren, and  Holland.  From  the  beginning  the  royal  patient  seemed 
to  be  conscious  that  her  case  was  hopeless,  and  that  her  malady 
was  incurable.  Her  mind  was  diseased.  A  deadly  canker 
gnawed  at  her  very  heart.  She  felt  that  she  had  not  established 
the  entire  innocence  of  her  conduct  in  the  estimation  of  the  na- 
tion ;  that  the  abandonment  of  the  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties  by 
her  enemies  had  not  rescued  her  character  from  moral  degradar 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   FOURTH.  383 

tion ;  and  that  her  unfortunate  attempt  to  participate  in  the  cer- 
emonies of  the  coronation,  and  her  baffled  efforts  to  disturb  and 
defeat  them,  both  by  her  own  conduct,  and  by  the  anticipated 
co-operation  and  violence  of  her  friends,  had  deprived  her  of  the 
popular  sympathy,  and  overwhelmed  her  with  universal  ridicule. 
She  henceforth  furnished  one  of  the  most  memorable  examples 
on  record,  of  the  truth  of  those  oracular  words  uttered  by  the 
great  bard  of  Avon  in  reference  to  another  queen,  more  gifted, 
more  guilty,  but  not  more  miserable  than  she  : 

"  Thou  canst  not  minister  to  a  mind  diseased ; 
Pluck  from  the  memory  a  rooted  sorrow  ; 
Raze  out  the  written  troubles  of  the  brain ; 
And  with  some  sweet  oblivious  antidote, 
Cleanse  the  stuffed  bosom  of  that  perilous  stuff 
Which  weighs  upon  the  heart." 

The  queen's  illness  assumed  a  serious  aspect  on  the  second 
of  August.  A  bulletin  was  issued  on  that  day,  which  announced 
that  she  was  suffering  severely  from  internal  inflammation  and 
obstruction.  Having  from  the  first  attack  anticipated  a  fatal  issue, 
she  declared  herself  willing  and  ready  to  terminate  an  existence 
which  to  her  had  long  been  one  of  unmingled  sorrow  and  misery. 
She  calmly  executed  her  will ;  gave  many  directions  to  her  at- 
tendants in  reference  to  her  personal  affairs  ;  ordered  the  private 
diary  which  she  had  kept  for  many  years  to  be  destroyed ;  spoke 
charitably  of  all  her  enemies ;  gave  express  directions  that  her  body 
should  be  transported  after  her  death  to  her  native  Brunswick ;  and 
that  upon  her  tomb  should  be  inscribed  the  following  words  : 
"  Hei-e  lies  Caroline  of  Brunswick,  the  injured  Queen  of  England." 
Having  given  these  last  commands  she  rapidly  grew  Avorse. 
During  five  days  her  sufferings  were  intense.  At  length,  on  the 
morning  of  the  7th  of  August,  1821,  this  unfortunate  woman, 
whose  life  had  been  one  of  singular  vicissitude,  and  of  wonderful 
extremes,  sank  into  the  arms  of  death,  without  a  struggle.  In 
her  last  moments  she  was  surrounded  by  Lord  and  Lady  Hood, 
and  by  Lady  Hamilton.  Alderman  Wood,  one  of  her  best 
friends,  and  all  her  legal  advisers  and  physicians,  were  also  in 


384  HISTOET   OF  THE   FOUK   GEOEGES. 

attendance  in  an  adjoining  apartment.  The  queen  expired  in  her 
fifty-foui-th  year.  She  had  spent  eighteen  years  in  England,  in  a 
state  of  hostility  against  her  husband ;  and  some  additional 
years  she  had  passed  in  travelling  over  the  continent,  ming- 
ling in  scenes  which,  if  not  guilty  and  culpable,  were  at  least 
indecorous,  imprudent,  and  suspicious  in  the  highest  degree.* 
Yet  many  excuses  may  be  urged  in  her  behalf.  She  had  been 
reared  without  any  particular  moral  instruction  ;  and  her  parents 
had  never  permitted  her  to  unite  with  any  church,  in  order 
that  she  might  be  the  more  free  to  accept  any  desirable  match 
which  would  in  subsequent  life  be  offered ;  and  that  she  might 
more  easily  espouse  the  religion  of  her  husband,  whether -it  were 
Roman  Catholic,  Greek,  or  Protestant.  Her  mother  had  been  a 
vain,  frivolous,  and  unprincipled  woman ;  her  father,  a  vicious, 
reckless,  and  daring  adventurer.  She  passed  from  the  moral  in- 
fluence and  example  of  such  questionable  persons,  to  the  society 
of  the  most  licentious  and  debauched  prince  of  his  age ;  a  man 
who  entertained  no  respect  for  women ;  who  was  governed  by 
no  moral  principles  whatever ;  whose  passions  were  fierce  and 
uncontrollable ;  whose  pride  and  arrogance  were  unbounded ; 
and  M'ho  was  totally  unfit  in  every  respect  to  render  her  happy, 
virtuous,  or  useful.  And  after  their  mutual  hostilities  began,  the 
indignities  which  her  husband  heaped  upon  her,  and  the  innumer- 
able provocations  with  which  he  irritated  her,  necessarily  pro- 
voked her  to  acts  of  imprudence  and  violence  from  which,  under 
other  circumstances,  she  might  have  recoiled.  And  even  in  the 
worst  view  which  can  be  taken  of  her  conduct,  she  must  ever  ap- 
pear as  an  angel  of  light  when  compared  with  the  individual 
who  traduced,  and  attempted  to  ruin  her.  Had  she  been  even 
a  Messalina,  her  husband  would  have  had  no  right  to  have 
condemned  her ;  for   he  consigned  her  directly  to  the  society 

*  See  Gynecocracy ;  with  an  Essay  on  Fornication,  Adultery,  and  Incest. 
By  tJte  Autlior  of  " Eumors  of  Treason"  {Richard  Carlyle).  London  :  Stock- 
dale,  1821.  8vo.  This  work,  which  is  rarely  accessible,  was  written  by  a  vio- 
lent partisan  ;  but  while  some  of  its  statements  may  seem  to  be  of  doubtful 
veracity,  its  contents  are  in  general  interesting  and  valuable. 


LIFE   Aim   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE  THE   FOUKTH.  385 

of  his  own  paramours  and  prostitutes  ;  and  these  rivals  gratified 
their  jealousy  by  rendering  her  hateful  and  repulsive  to  her  hus- 
band, and  by  finally  driving  her,  through  their  spiteful  persecu- 
tions, to  leave  his  residence.  All  these  indignities  were  pallia- 
tions of  her  faults,  and  should  diminish  the  censure  which  the 
severest  critic  of  human  conduct  and  character  could  inflict  upon 
her  memory. 

The  vengeance  and  malignity  of  George  IV.  pursued  even  the 
lifeless  corpse  of  his  unfortunate  queen.  She  had  expressed  the 
desire  that  not  till  after  a  delay  of  three  days  should  her  remains 
be  carried  to  Brunswick  for  interment.  The  kinff  ordered  that 
they  should  be  immediately  conveyed  to  Harwich  for  embarka- 
tion. Lady  Hood  was  justly  shocked,  as  were  indeed  all  the 
friends  of  the  deceased  princess,  at  this  disgraceful  haste  ;  and  she 
addressed  a  letter  to  Lord  Liverpool,  declaring  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  the  ladies  of  the  queen  to  make  the  necessary 
preparations  for  travelling  in  so  short  a  time.  The  reply  stated 
that  no  alteration  could  be  made  in  the  arrangements  which  had 
been  designated ;  and  that  if  the  queen's  ladies  were  not  furnish- 
ed in  time  with  the  appropriate  mourning  apparel,  they  might 
remain  behind.  The  most  direct  route  to  Harwich  passed 
through  the  city  of  London ;  but  as  the  metropolitan  populace 
might  make  some  demonstration  favorable  to  the  deceased, 
the  king  ordered  that  the  cortege  should  proceed  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route  to  Eomford,  and  thence  to  Harwich.  The  prepa- 
rations which  were  made  for  the  funeral  were  mean  and  con- 
temptible in  the  extreme.  Never  before  had  any  Queen  of  Eng 
land  been  buried  with  such  a  beggarly  display.  The  rain  fell  in 
torrents  and  added  to  the  dismal  aspect  of  the  scene.  When  the 
government  officials  entered  the  room  where  the  body  lay,  in 
order  to  remove  it,  Dr.  Lushington  and  Mr.  Wilde,  the  exec- 
utors of  the  queen,  protested  formally  against  the  indecent  haste 
and  insufficient  preparations  which  characterized  the  whole  pro- 
ceedings. They  protested  in  vain  ;  and  the  unconscious  and  dis- 
honored corpse  commenced  its  last  mournful  journey.  It  was 
attended  by  a  meagre  array  of  cavalry ;  and  its  progress  wa3 
17 


386  HISTOET   OF  THE   FOUR   GE0KGE8. 

marked  by  no  incident  of  importance  till  it  reached  Kensington 
Church.  Here  the  direct  route  through  the  capital  was  deserted, 
and  the  line  of  inarch  was  taken  through  Church  street  into  Bay- 
water  Road  ;  but  a  wild  burst  of  indignation  from  the  immense 
crowd  assailed  the  cortege  ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  perceived  that 
this  protest  produced  no  effect,  the  highway  was  dug  up,  barri- 
cades were  erected,  and  further  progress  in  that  direction  was 
rendered  impossible.  The  guards  and  the  police  at  first  indicated 
a  disjjosition  to  force  their  passage ;  but  the  detei'mined  manner 
of  the  populace  soon  convinced  them  of  the  impossibility  of  ac- 
complishing their  purpose.  The  order  was  then  given  to  proceed 
directly  through  London ;  and  then  a  yell  of  triumph  arose  from 
myriads  of  throats,  which  might  almost  have  waked  the  departed 
queen  from  the  icy  slumber  of  death.  When  the  procession  ar- 
rived at  Park  Lane,  another  conflict  ensued  between  the  populace 
and  the  military,  which  ended  more  seriously.  The  latter  were 
assailed  with  missiles,  and  many  of  them  were  seriously  wound- 
ed. They  fired  a  volley  in  return  into  the  serried  mass,  and  two 
persons  were  killed,  and  several  others  were  dangerously  injured. 
This  decisive  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  troops  diminished  the 
ardor  of  the  people  only  for  a  time  ;  for  when  the  corpse  ar- 
rived at  Tottenham  Court  Road,  an  impenetrable  multitude  com- 
pelled its  bearers  to  turn  again  southward  toward  the  city,  and 
to  pass  through  Drury  Lane  into  the  Strand.  The  friends  of  the 
unfortunate  woman  thus  triumphed  at  last,  after  a  conflict  of 
seven  hours  ;  during  which  the  unhonored  remains  of  a  British 
queen  had  been  dragged  sometimes  slowly,  sometimes  at  an  in- 
decent pace,  through  the  rain  and  mud,  toward  their  distant  desti- 
nation. During  the  intervening  night,  the  corpse  was  placed  in 
St.  Peter's  Church  in  Colchester ;  and  while  the  silent  hours 
were  wearing  away,  a  silver  plate,  bearing  upon  its  front  the 
chosen  words  of  the  dying  Caroline — "The  injured  Queen  of 
England" — ^was  mysteriously  aflftxed  to  the  lid  of  the  coffin. 
But  this  plate  was  removed  as  soon  as  the  morning  light  revealed 
its  unwelcome  presence  to  the  agents  and  servants  of  the  king. 
When  the  corpse  reached  the  port  of  Harwich,  it  was  transferred 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   FOUKTH.  387 

on  board  the  frigate  Glasgow,  which  was  accompanied  by  several 
other  vessels.  A  small  group  of  silent  mourners  attended  the 
remains  as  they  were  thus  dispatched  to  their  last  resting  place. 
The  faithful  friends  who  had  adhered  to  the  varying  fortunes  of 
the  queen  during  life  and  in  death,  did  not  desert  her  clay  tene- 
ment in  that  hour  of  sad  and  melancholy  loneliness.  These  were 
Lord  and  Lady  Hood,  Lady  Hamilton,  Mr.  Austin,  Dr.  Lushing- 
ton  and  his  wife,  and  Count  Vasali.  Having  safely  crossed  the 
channel,  the  squadron  sailed  up  the  Elbe,  and  landed  its  burden 
at  Stade.  Thence  it  was  conveyed  by  land  to  Brunswick,  the 
natal  spot  of  her  who  had  experienced  such  strange  vicissitudes 
of  fate  and  fortune.  At  the  solemn  hour  of  midnight,  on  the  24th 
of  August,  the  remains  were  deposited  in  the  vault  of  the  ducal 
family,  beneath  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Blai2e,  in  the  capital  of  the 
Duchy  ;  on  her  coffin  was  placed  a  plate  which  set  forth  her  age 
and  several  of  the  prominent  incidents  of  her  life  ;  and  she  was 
laid  at  last  to  repose  between  the  coffins  of  two  remarkable  men, 
her  father  and  her  brother,  the  former  of  whom  fell  at  Jena, 
vainly  resisting  the  colossal  power  of  Napoleon,  the  latter  at 
Waterloo,  in  the  hour  of  exultant  victory  and  glory.  The  cere- 
monies which  attended  the  bui'ial  of  this  imhappy  princess  were 
not  such  as  decency  demanded ;  because  the  Duchy  of  Brunswick 
was  at  that  period  an  appendage  to  the  British  crown,  the  hered- 
itary Duke  being  yet  a  minor ;  and  George  IV.  carried  the  grat- 
ification of  his  insatiable  hatred  to  the  last  recorded  incident  of 
his  wife's  earthly  career,  and  scarcely  permitted  her  inanimate 
remains  to  escape  ignominy  and  persecution  even  amid  the 
ghastly  solitude  and  gloom  of  the  grave.  Thus  ended  in  sadness 
and  shame  the  memorable  career  of  Caroline  Amelia  Elizabeth 
of  Brunswick.  Her  character  was  one  of  a  mixed  and  an  equiv- 
ocal nature.  Her  intellectual  powers  were  above  the  ordinary 
range ;  she  was  intelligent,  witty,  and  sagacious.  She  was 
strong  and  firm  in  her  friendships  ;  bitter,  yet  not  implacable,  in 
her  hatreds.  Her  nature  was  generous,  liberal,  and  completely 
devoid  of  that  quality  which  is  the  most  requisite  attribute  of 
courtiers,  and  of  those  who  have  to  deal  with  them — she  was  en- 


388  msTOET  OF  the  fottk  geokges. 

tirely  free  from  guile  and  perfidy.  Her  chief  fault  was  her  reck- 
less imprudence,  and  her  contempt  of  female  delicacy.  Neverthe- 
less, as  these  defects  appeared  only  at  a  later  period  of  her  career, 
after  she  had  suffered  years  of  persecution  and  ignominy  from 
her  husband,  it  is  probable  that,  had  her  heart  not  been  soured 
and  her  mind  alienated  by  unmerited  suffering,  she  would  have 
remained  through  life  an  estimable  woman,  not  destitute  of  wo- 
man's greatest  jewel. 


CHAPTEE    VII. 


Death  of  the  Duke  of  Kent— Historic  Portrait  of  his  Life — His  early  Education — His 
Kesidence  at  Geneva — His  Sudden  Flight  to  England — Tyranny  of  George  III. — The 
Duke  is  ordered  to  Gibraltar — Ills  Poverty — His  Campaign  in  the  West  Indies— His 
Residence  in  Canada— lie  is  appointed  Governor  of  Gibraltar — Character  of  his  Ad- 
ministration— He  returns  to  England — His  Debts — His  Marriage  with  the  Princess 
of  Leinengen — His  Eesidenco  at  Amoorback — Birth  of  the  Princess  Victoria — The 
Duke  of  Clarence — George  IV.  visits  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Hanover — Abilities  of 
Mr.  Huskisson — Financial  state  of  the  Empire — Valuable  services  of  Mr.  Canning. 


George  IV.  received  the  news  of  the  death  of  the  queen  with  a 
joy  which  he  could  not  conceal.  The  great  plague  of  his  exist- 
ence was  at  last  removed ;  and  that  notorious  and  infamous 
scandal  which  his  domestic  vices  and  family  feuds  had  engendered 
tliroughout  the  world  would  thenceforth  be  diminished.  A  short 
time  previous  to  this  event  other  incidents  had  occurred  in  the 
royal  family  which  possessed  a  public  interest,  and  demand  a 
place  in  our  history.  On  the  23d  of  January,  1820,  Edward 
Augustus,  Duke  of  Kent,  expired,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his 
age.  lie  was  the  fourth  son  of  George  III.,  and  was  born  in  1767. 
His  life  had  been  an  unhappy  and  gloomy  one,  for  he  was  always 
disliked  by  his  parents,  hated  by  his  brothers,  and  persecuted  by 
his  enemies ;  yet,  in  spite  of  them  all,  he  subsequently  became 
the  father  of  a  young  princess  who  inherited,  under  the  name  of 
Victoria,  that  very  sceptre  whose  repulsive  and  hostile  influence 
had  so  much  afflicted  him. 

The  first  preceptor  of  the  young  Duke  of  Kent  was  Dr. 
Fisher,  afterward  Bishop  of  Exeter  and  Salisbury.  In  his  eigh- 
teenth year  he  was  sent  to  Luneburg,  in  Hanover,  to  pursue  his 
military   studies  under  Baron    Wangenheim.     He  here  com- 


390  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

nienccd  to  feel  the  miseries  of  that  parsimoinous  allowance  of 
money,  which  was  one  of  his  greatest  calamities  through  life. 
His  father  gave  him  only  a  thousand  pounds  a  year ;  and  the 
half  of  this  sum  stuck  to  the  adhesive  fingers  of  his  preceptor,  be- 
fore the  balance  reached  his  own.  Coeval  in  point  of  time  with 
his  p'overty,  the  chief  defect  of  the  prince  was  developed.  This 
was  a  great  disposition  to  extravagance.  None  of  the  sons  of 
George  III,  ever  appeared  to  possess  the  least  conception  of  the 
value  of  money ;  and  all  of  them  were  annoyed  by  the  misfor- 
tunes which  such  ignorance  inevitably  entails.  In  May,  1786, 
the  prince  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Colonel  in  the  army  by 
brevet ;  and  soon  after,  he  was  chosen  Knight  of  the  Garter. 
In  1787  he  removed  to  Geneva,  in  accordance  with  the  command 
of  his  royal  father.  He  was  still  under  the  authority  of  the  stern 
Wangenheim,  who  plinidered  him  as  usual  of  one-half  of  his  al- 
lowance. Here  his  Eoyal  Highness  began  to  comprehend  the 
indescribable  pertinacity  and  infelicity  which  are  involved  in  the 
idea  of  a  dun ;  and  he  never  became  practically  free  from  a  fa- 
miliar acquaintance  with  that  disgusting  knowledge  till  the  day 
of  his  death.  While  he  dwelt  at  Geneva,  he  began  the  habit  of 
borrowing  money  at  immense  interest ;  and  thus  loaded  himself 
with  burdens  which  adhered  to  him  pertinaciously  during  life. 
It  is  true  that,  like  all  princes  of  the  blood,  he  was  subjected  to 
innumerable  appeals  for  aid,  and  to  potent  temptations  to  vice ; 
and  this  circumstance  constitutes  his  chief  excuse.  He  was  also 
afflicted  by  other  unseemly  annoyances.  His  valet  was  in  re- 
ality a  spy  upon  his  conduct,  and  was  in  his  father's  pay;  while 
Wangenheim,  one  of  the  most  inflexible  and  unendurable  of  men, 
was  still  in  authority  over  him.  , 

The  prince  became  of  age  in  1788  ;  yet  he  endeavored  to  en- 
dure his  disagreeable  position  some  time  longer.  At  length  it 
became  insupportable  ;  and  in  January,  1790,  he  suddenly  deter- 
mined, in  spite  of  the  positive  prohibition  of  his  father,  to  return 
to  England,  and  lay  his  grievances  in  person  before  him.  Ac- 
cordingly he  arrived  at  night  unheralded  in  London,  took  lodg- 
ings at  a  hotel  in  King  Street,  and  sent  word  to  his  brother,  the 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  FOURTH.  891 

Prince  of  Wales,  of  his  unexpected  presence.  The  prince  imme- 
diately visited  him,  and  brought  him  to  Carlton  House.  Here 
he  was  joined  by  the  Duke  of  York,  and  the  three  consulted  to- 
gether in  terror  as  to  what  was  then  best  to  be  done.  It  was 
finally  agreed  that  the  Duke  of  York,  who  stood  best  with 
George  III.,  should  inform  him  of  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of 
Kent,  and  should  obtain  for  him  an  audience.  He  did  so,  but 
the  wrath  of  the  monarch  at  the  disobedience  of  his  unhappy  son 
was  overwhelming.  He  would  listen  to  no  excuse ;  he  would 
accept  no  palliation  of  his  crime ;  and  his  presence  in  London  was 
an  act  of  the  most  daring  and  deliberate  defiance  of  his  royal 
authority.  In  vain,  during  thirteen  successive  days,  did  the 
young  Duke  of  Kent  endeavor  to  propitiate  his  father  by  every 
possible  expedient.  On  the  fourteenth,  he  received  a  sealed 
official  paper.  It  contained  an  order  for  him  to  embark  for  Gib- 
raltar within  twenty-four  hours.  Immediately  before  his  depar- 
ture, he  was  allowed  an  audience  of  five  minutes'  duration,  and 
then  received  an  outfit  of  five  hundred  pounds. 

At  Gibraltar  the  Duke  was  placed  under  the  care  of  General 
Symes,  a  man  of  some  intelligence  and  feeling  ;  and  thus  the  un- 
happy prince  was  at  last  released  from  the  surveillance  of  the 
detested  Waugenheim.  While  residing  at  Gibraltar,  he  became 
interested  in  military  tactics,  and  became  something  of  a  disci- 
plinarian, both  over  himself  and  over  those  whom  he  was  per- 
mitted to  command.  His  rank  was  then  Colonel  of  the  Royal 
Fusilecrs  ;  and  from  Gibraltar  he  and  his  regiment  were  ordered 
to  Quebec.  At  this  period  he  was  already  greatly  in  debt ;  and 
his  residence  at  Gibraltar  had  increased  their  aggregate  to  twenty 
thousand  pounds.  His  position  at  Quebec  was  rendered  un- 
pleasant in  many  respects,  chiefly  from  want  of  adequate  sup- 
port ;  and  he  endeavored  to  release  himself  from  the  intricate 
coil  of  entanglements  which  enveloped  him,  by  removing  to  a 
distant  scene  of  military  service.  He  requested  and  obtained  an 
appointment  under  Sir  Charles  Grey,  who  was  at  that  time  en- 
gaged in  hostilities  against  the  French  in  the  West  Lidies, 

The  Duke  of  Kent  was  not  deficient  in  personal  bravery.    At 


% 


392  HISTOET   OF  THE   FOUE   GEOEGES. 

the  capture  of  Guadaloupe  in  April,  1794,  he  led  on  the  first 
division  to  the  attack,  and  he  exhibited  such  gallantry  as  to  ex- 
tort unqualified   praise   from   the   Commander-in-Chief,   in   his 
official  report  to  the  government.     Thus,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven,  he  obtained  distinction  in  an  honorable  profession.    When 
the  British  nation  received  information  of  the  intrepidity  which 
the  prince  had  displayed,  the  unusual   spectacle   excited  their 
warmest  applause,  and  their  representatives  in  Parliament  passed 
a  vote  of  thanks  for  his  "  gallant  conduct  and  meritorious  exer- 
tions."    Similar  honors  were  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  Irish 
Parliament.     But  as  philosophy  cannot  make  a  Juliet,  neither 
can  public  honors  liquidate  debts  ;    and  the  mortifications  and 
difliculties  of  the  lavish  and  generous  prince  increased  constantly 
in  every  position  in  which  he  was  placed.     During  his  residence 
at  ]\Iartinique,  he  was  destitute  of  every  thing  except  the  clothes 
upon  his  person.*     It  is  indeed  difficult  to  account  for  the  indif- 
ference which  George  III.  exhibited  to  the  wants  and  the  troubles 
of  his  son,  which  sometimes  were  so  great  as  to  render  his  royal 
relationship  contemptible,  and  the  subject  of  popular  derision. 
It  is  presumed  that  the  prince  had  incurred  the  inveterate  repug- 
nance of  his  narrow-minded  and  inflexible  father,  by  his  extreme- 
ly liberal  principles  ;  and  that  all  his  calamities  were  to  be  at- 
tributed to  that  cause.     The  prince  himself  declared,  in  a  letter 
written  from  the  West  Indies,  that  "  the  wish  entertained  about 
him,  in  certain  quarters,  when  serving  here,  was  that  he  might 
fall." 

At  the  end  of  his  campaign  in  the  West  Indies,  the  Duke  was 
ordered  to  return  to  Canada;  At  this  period  his  allowance  was 
raised  by  Parliament  to  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand  pounds  per 
year ;  and  soon  after  he  received  the  appointment  of  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  forces  in  British  North  America.  Ill  health  soon 
compelled  him  to  resign  this  difficult  post ;  but  as  if  to  remove 
him  as  far  and  as  continually  as  was  possible  from  his  relatives 

*  See  Life  of  Field  Marshal  His  Royal  Highness,  Edward,  DuJce  of  Kent. 
By  the  Eev.  Ershine  Neale,  M.  A.,  Eector  of  Kirton.  London  :  Bentley,  1850, 
p.  149. 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   FOURTH.  393 

and  his  country,  he  was  ordered  to  assume  the  vacant  Governor- 
ship of  Gibraltar — a  position  still  more  onerous  and  undesirable 
than  that  which  he  had  deserted,  in  consequence  of  the  extreme 
insubordination  and  disaffection  which  at  that  time  pervaded  the 
whole  garrison.  The  Duke  arrived  at  Gibraltar  in  May,  1802  ; 
and  he  immediately  discovered  that  he  had  undertaken  a  repul- 
sive, and  even  a  dangerous  task.  Discipline  was  entirely  I'c- 
laxed;  drunkeimess  universally  prevailed,  both  among  officers 
and  privates  ;  hostility  existed  between  the  soldiery  and  the  in- 
habitants of  the  town  ;  and  every  possible  species  of  abuse  and 
vice  was  openly  indulged.  The  fortress  might  very  properly  be 
compared  to  an  Augean  stable,  whose  vast  and  foul  pollutions 
none  but  a  modern  Hercules  could  cleanse.  At  first,  the  new 
governor  looked  on  the  spectacle  in  silent  disgust.  After  some 
reflection,  he  resolved  to  undertake  the  removal,  or  the  cure,  of 
the  evils  which  pervaded  every  branch  of  the  service.  He 
stopped  the  retail  of  spirituous  liquors,  in  a  very  great  measure, 
as  being  the  chief  cause  of  all  the  existing  vices  ;  and  he  carried 
forward  his  reforms  in  every  possible  direction,  and  with  the 
most  unflinching  rigor.  So  extreme  did  that  rigor  become,  that 
several  of  the  regiments  mutinied ;  and  for  a  short  time,  the 
Duke  was  in  imminent  danger  of  assassination.  But  he  displayed 
remarkable  intrepidity  in  the  midst  of  great  personal  peril,  and 
put  down  the  insurrection  with  an  iron  hand.  The  ringleaders 
were  taken,  tried,  convicted,  and  executed.  Other  offenders  of 
less  degree  were  punished  in  proportion  to  their  guilt.  The 
Duke  did  his  duty  inexorably,  but  he  became  very  unpopular  ; 
and  three  months  after  the  restoration  of  order,  he  was  directed 
by  George  III.  to  return  to  England. 

Several  years  of  retirement  ensued  in  the  life  of  the  Duke, 
during  which  he  seems  to  have  performed  nothing  worthy  of 
note,  except  that  he  added  vastly  to  the  accumulation  of  his 
debts.  These  again  became  so  burdensome,  that  in  1816,  he  re- 
moved to  the  continent,  and  took  up  his  residence,  for  the  sake 
of  greater  cheapness,  at  Brussels.  In  visiting  the  several  branch- 
es of  his  family  in  Germany,  he  became  acquainted  with  the 
17* 


39-i  HISTOKT   OF  THE  FOUR   GEORGES. 

Princess  of  Leiningen,  the  sister  of  Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe  Co- 
bourg.  This  young  lady  had  been  married  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
to  the  hereditary  Prince  of  Leiningen,  a  venerable  and  dilapi- 
dated suitor,  who  was  twenty-eight  years  her  senior.  It  was  her 
calamitous  late  to  endui'e  this  partner  during  twelve  years.  To 
the  handsome  and  amiable  widow  of  this  ancient  husband,  the 
Duke  of  Kent  was  married  in  May,  1818,  at  Cobourg.  Both 
parties  were  poor,  but  both  seemed  happy.  They  resided  at 
Amorbach,  the  petty  capital  of  the  small  principality  of  Leinin- 
gen. Soon  it  became  evident  that  the  Duchess  of  Kent  was  preg- 
nant, and  it  was  a  matter  of  the  first  importance  to  her  and  to 
her  husband  that  their  child  should  be  born  in  England.  Yet 
so  impoverished  were  the  parents  of  the  future  powerful  queen  of 
the  British  Empire  at  that  time,  that  they  had  not  even  the  means 
necessary  to  convey  them  across  the  channel.  The  Duke  in  vain 
appealed  for  aid  to  his  eldest  brother,  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The 
luxurious  and  iniprincipled  sybarite  of  Carlton  House  turned  a 
deaf  ear  to  his  appeals.  Other  members  of  the  royal  family  re- 
fused their  aid ;  and  it  was  at  last  through  the  contributions 
raised  by  a  few  obscure  and  untitled  friends  of  the  Duke  of  Kent 
in  London,  that  the  necessary  means  of  travelling  were  procured. 
This  assistance  came  none  too  soon.  Scarcely  had  he  and  his 
wife  reached  KMisington  Palace,  when,  on  the  24th  of  May,  1819, 
their  daughter,  the  future  inheritress  of  the  British  crown,  was 
born.  A  few  months  afterward  the  royal  pair  returned  to  their 
former  residence  at  Amorbach ;  and  here  the  Duke  suddenly 
expired  from  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  several  weeks  after  his 
arrival.  Had  he  lived,  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  demise  of  in- 
tervening claimants  would  have  invested  this  most  persecuted 
and  unfortunate  member  of  the  family  of  George  IIL  wath  that 
sceptre,  under  whose  partial  and  perverted  power  he  had  him- 
self so  often  and  so  severely  suffered.  The  Duke  of  Kent  pos- 
sessed one  pre-eminent  excellence  over  all  the  other  members  of 
the  royal  family,  which  deserved  to  embalm  his  memory  in 
the  judgment  of  posterity.  He  .ilone  of  that  exalted  circle, 
•was  a  man  of  principle ;   and  his  principles  were  such   as  all 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE   THE   FOURTH.  395 

enlightened  men  must  approve  and  commend.  His  brothers 
had  no  principles  whatever;  but  were  time-serving,  vascil- 
lating,  hypocritical,  and  perfidious;  -and  uniformly  governed 
their  conduct  in  accordance  with  their  interests,  their  impulses, 
and  their  passions.  The  general  unpopularity  of  the  Duke 
of  Kent  with  all  his  relations,  and  especially  with  those  whose 
heads  were  successively  decorated  with  the  diadem,  resulted 
from  his  liberal  views,  and  from  his  disposition  to  enlarge 
and  secure  the  franchises  of  the  British  subject. 

Another  member  of  the  royal  family  whose  personal  history 
deserves  a  passing  notice  in  this  connection,  was  William  Henry, 
Duke  of  Clarence,  the  third  son  of  George  III.,  who  afterward 
succeeded  George  IV,  upon  the  throne.  Tliis  prince  was  born  in 
August,  17G5.  From  his  youth  he  was  destined  for  the  naval 
service,  and  accordingly,  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  was 
placed  on  board  the  "Prince  George"  as  midshipman,  com- 
manded by  Lord  Digby.  He  subsequently  saw  some  active 
service  under  Admirals  Eodney,  Hood,  and  Nelson.  At  the 
termination  of  the  war  in  1782,  he  determined  to  qualify  himself 
for  command,  and  continued  in  active  employment  visiting  Cape 
Francois  and  the  Havana.  He  rapidly  passed  through  all  the 
ascending  grades  of  rank  ;  became  lieutenant  and  captain ;  and 
in  1790  was  appointed  Rear  Admiral  of  the  Blue.  His  talents 
were  by  no  means  remarkable,  yet  in  1818  he  was  promoted  to 
the  important  post  of  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England.  In  the 
performance  of  the  duties  which  this  responsible  station  involved ; 
he  visited  all  the  naval  depots  of  the  realm  ;  examined  into 
abuses ;  corrected  errors ;  made  necessary  promotions ;  and 
effected  some  judicious  reforms.  His  chief  adviser  and  assistant 
in  these  achievements  was  Mr.  Canning,  whose  sudden  and  pre- 
mature death  cut  short  the  brief  career  of  his  own  official  useful- 
ness and  fame.  After  the  resignation  of  his  office  as  Lord  High 
Admiral,  the  life  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence  became  one  of  retire- 
ment and  obscurity,  until  his  final  elevation  to  the  highest  seat 
in  the  empire.  The  character  of  this  prince  presented  no  salient 
points  which  were  in  themselves  commendable.     He  was  a  great 


396  HI5T0ET   OF  THE   FOTR   GEORGES. 

spendthrift ;  and  if  the  declaration  of  Lord  Nelson  is  to  be  be- 
lieved, he  "was  in  his  early  manhood,  an  incorrigible  liar.  His 
most  solemn  assertions  could  rarely  or  never  be  relied  upon.  An 
idea  may  be  formed  of  the  prodigality  usually  displayed  by  this 
prince,  from  the  fact  that,  during  the  fifteen  months  in  which  he 
commanded  at  the  Admiralty,  his  expenses  there  incurred  were 
twenty-five  thousand  pounds  ;  although  it  must  be  admitted,  as 
some  extenuation  of  this  lavish  waste,  that  a  portion  of  this  sum 
was  spent  in  the  munificent  hospitality  which  he  exercised  toward 
the  profession.  In  his  intercourse  with  women  the  Duke  of  Clar- 
ence was  indeed  less  promiscuous  and  less  unscrupulous  than  his 
brother,  the  Prince  of  Wales;  but  this  circumstance  resulted 
more  from  his  sated  inclination  than  from  his  purer  principles. 
He  maintained  a  liaison  during  many  years  with  the  celebrated 
comic  actress,  Mrs.  Jordan  ;  by  her  he  had  a  numerous  family  of 
children :  and  her  he  cruellv  and  brutallv  deserted  when  he  had 
attained  his  fiftieth  vear-  to  unite  himself  in  marriacre  with  the 
Princess  Adelaide  of  Saxe-Meiningen.  If  he  was  not  notoriously 
vagrant  and  versatile  in  his  amours,  the  credit  is  due,  not  to  his 
superior  -v-irtue,  but  to  ^Mrs.  Jordan's  transcendant  charms. 

Of  the  other  members  of  the  famUv  of  George  IV.  it  is  un- 

»  CD 

necessary  here  to  speak ;  and  we  have  digressed  thus  far  from 
the  main  current  of  our  history,  to  glance  only  at  the  personal 
career  of  two  relatives  of  the  king,  who  were  remarkable  and 
worthy  of  note  ;  the  one,  because  he  became  the  father  of  the 
princess  who,  to  the  infinite  chagrin  of  some  of  her  connections, 
afterward  wielded  the  sceptre  of  the  British  Empire,  and  the 
other,  because  he  himself  eventually  ascended  the  throne. 

Scarcely  had  the  imposing  pomps,  the  festivities  and  the  con- 
gratulations which  attended  the  coronation  of  George  FV.  termi- 
nated, when  he  resolved  to  ^^sit  several  important  portions  of  his 
empire,  to  which  till  then  he  had  remained  personally  a  stranger. 
In  August,  1821,  he  journeyed  to  Ireland;  in  the  following  Sep- 
tember to  Hanover  ;  and  in  August  of  the  next  year  to  Scotland. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  discover  any  practical  good  which  was 
effected  by  these  expensive  travels ;   their  only  result  was  to 


LITE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   %aE  FOrETH.  397 

flatter  the  vanity  and  gratify  the  curiosity  of  the  sated  and  listless 
monarch  ;  while  the  outward  shows  of  respect  and  esteem  which 
attended  his  progress  were  but  additional  evidences  of  the  false 
and  delusive  flatteries  which  usually  surround  the  possessors  of 
supreme  power.  For  at  that  very  moment  the  financial  and  com- 
mercial interests  of  his  subjects  were  rapidly  approaching  a  peril- 
ous and  complicated  climax.  Universal  bankruptcy  threatened 
the  nation.  During  the  long  prevalence  of  the  war  from  1797 
till  1815,  paper  money  had  been  made  the  substitute  of  the  pre- 
cious metals  in  a  very  great  degree ;  and  thereby  the  price  of  all 
the  articles  of  commerce  was  nearly  doubled.  By  the  continuance 
of  peace  throughout  Europe,  and  by  the  revolutionary  and  dis- 
turbed condition  of  the  South  American  countries,  whence  the 
largest  supplies  of  gold  and  silver  had  for  many  years  been  de- 
rived, the  circulating  medium  of  the  nation  became  vastly  reduc- 
ed. This  circumstance  diminished  by  one-half  the  price  of  all 
the  articles  of  production  and  commerce.  To  remedy  this  evil, 
therefore,  as  far  as  possible,  the  British  Parliament  passed  a  bill 
in  1822,  extending  to  ten  years  the  period  during  which  small  bank 
notes  were  to  be  retained  in  circulation.  The  currency  immedi- 
ately became  greatly  expanded ;  the  nation  was  amply  provided 
with  paper  money  of  small  and  large  denominations  ;  the  general 
prosperity  of  every  branch  of  industry  seemed  to  increase  im- 
mensely ;  and  all  this  apparent  good  fortune  was  attributable  to 
the  prodigious  financial  ability  of  Mr,  Iluskisson,  who  in  Janu- 
ary, 1823,  was  appointed  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  with 
a  seat  in  the  Cabinet.  This  remarkable  man  was  the  confederate 
of  another  statesman  of  equally  valuable,  but  of  more  brilliant 
qualities.  In  August,  1822,  after  the  death  of  Lord  Londonderry, 
Mr.  Canning  had  been  invited  to  fill  the  ofiice  of  Minister  for 
Foreign  Afl^airs.  He  was  already  one  of  the  most  popular  min- 
isters who  ever  guided  the  destinies  of  England.  He  co-operated 
heartily  in  his  high  place  with  the  plans  and  measures  of  Mr, 
Huskisson,  and  introduced  into  the  Cabinet  the  ascendancy  of 
the  commercial,  manufacturing,  and  trading  interests  of  the 
nation  ;  inasmuch  as  these  were  regarded  by  the  leading  states- 


396  HISTOKT   OF  THE  FOIIK   GEORGES. 

spendthrift ;  and  if  the  declaration  of  Lord  Nelson  is  to  be  be- 
lieved, he  was  in  his  early  manhood,  an  incorrigible  liar.  His 
most  solemn  assertions  could  rarely  or  never  be  relied  upon.  An 
idea  may  be  formed  of  the  prodigality  usually  displayed  by  this 
prince,  from  the  fact  that,  during  the  fifteen  months  in  which  he 
commanded  at  the  Admiralty,  his  expenses  there  incurred  were 
twenty-five  thousand  pounds  ;  although  it  must  be  admitted,  as 
some  extenuation  of  this  lavish  waste,  that  a  portion  of  this  sum 
was  spent  in  the  munificent  hospitality  which  he  exercised  toward 
the  profession.  In  his  intercourse  with  women  the  Duke  of  Clar- 
ence was  indeed  less  promiscuous  and  less  unscrupulous  than  his 
brother,  the  Prince  of  Wales ;  but  this  circumstance  resulted 
more  from  his  sated  inclination  than  from  his  purer  principles. 
He  maintained  a  liaison  during  many  years  with  the  celebrated 
comic  actress,  Mrs.  Jordan  ;  by  her  he  had  a  numerous  family  of 
children ;  and  her  he  cruelly  and  brutally  deserted  when  he  had 
attained  his  fiftieth  year,  to  unite  himself  in  marriage  with  the 
Princess  Adelaide  of  Saxe-Meiningen.  If  he  was  not  notoriously 
vagrant  and  versatile  in  his  amours,  the  credit  is  due,  not  to  his 
superior  virtue,  but  to  Mrs.  Jordan's  transcendant  charms. 

Of  the  other  members  of  the  family  of  George  IV.  it  is  un- 
necessary here  to  speak ;  and  we  have  digressed  thus  far  from 
the  main  current  of  our  history,  to  glance  only  at  the  personal 
career  of  two  relatives  of  the  king,  who  were  remarkable  and 
worthy  of  note  ;  the  one,  because  he  became  the  father  of  the 
princess  who,  to  the  infinite  chagrin  of  some  of  her  connections, 
afterward  wielded  the  sceptre  of  the  British  Empire,  and  the 
other,  because  he  himself  eventually  ascended  the  throne. 

Scarcely  had  the  imposing  pomps,  the  festivities  and  the  con- 
gratulations which  attended  the  coronation  of  George  IV.  termi- 
nated, when  he  resolved  to  visit  several  important  portions  of  his 
empire,  to  which  till  then  he  had  remained  personally  a  stranger. 
In  August,  1821,  he  journeyed  to  Ireland;  in  the  following  Sep- 
tember to  Hanover  ;  and  in  August  of  the  next  year  to  Scotland. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  discover  any  practical  good  which  was 
effected  by  these  expensive  travels ;   their  only  result  was  to 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   "{HE   FOUETH.  397 

flatter  the  vanity  and  gratify  the  curiosity  of  the  sated  and  listless 
monarch  ;  while  the  outward  shows  of  respect  and  esteem  which 
attended  his  progress  were  but  additional  evidences  of  the  false 
and  delusive  flatteries  which  usually  surround  the  possessors  of 
supreme  power.  For  at  that  very  moment  the  financial  and  com- 
mercial interests  of  his  subjects  were  rapidly  approaching  a  peril- 
ous and  complicated  climax.  Universal  bankruptcy  threatened 
the  nation.  During  the  long  prevalence  of  the  war  from  1797 
till  1815,  paper  money  had  been  made  the  substitute  of  the  pre- 
cious metals  in  a  vei'y  great  degree  ;  and  thereby  the  price  of  all 
the  articles  of  commerce  was  nearly  doubled.  By  the  continuance 
of  peace  throughout  Europe,  and  by  the  revolutionary  and  dis- 
turbed condition  of  the  South  American  countries,  whence  the 
largest  supplies  of  gold  and  silver  had  for  many  years  been  de- 
rived, the  circulating  medium  of  the  nation  became  vastly  reduc- 
ed. This  circumstance  diminished  by  one-half  the  price  of  all 
the  articles  of  production  and  commerce.  To  remedy  this  evil, 
therefore,  as  far  as  possible,  the  British  Parliament  passed  a  bill 
in  1822,  extending  to  ten  years  the  period  during  which  small  bank 
notes  were  to  be  retained  in  circulation.  The  currency  immedi- 
ately became  greatly  expanded ;  the  nation  was  amply  provided 
with  paper  money  of  small  and  large  denominations  ;  the  general 
prosperity  of  every  branch  of  industry  seemed  to  increase  im- 
mensely ;  and  all  this  apparent  good  fortune  was  attributable  to 
the  prodigious  financial  ability  of  Mr.  Huskisson,  who  in  Janu- 
ary, 1823,  was  appointed  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  with 
a  seat  in  the  Cabinet.  This  remarkable  man  was  the  confederate 
of  another  statesman  of  equally  valuable,  but  of  more  brilliant 
qualities.  In  August,  1822,  after  the  death  of  Lord  Londonderry, 
Mr.  Canning  had  been  invited  to  fill  the  office  of  Minister  for 
Foreign  Afl^airs.  He  was  already  one  of  the  most  popular  min- 
isters who  ever  guided  the  destinies  of  England.  He  co-operated 
heartily  in  his  high  place  with  the  plans  and  measures  of  Mr. 
Huskisson,  and  introduced  into  the  Cabinet  the  ascendancy  of 
the  commercial,  manufacturing,  and  trading  interests  of  the 
nation  ;  inasmuch  as  these  were  regarded  by  the  leading  states- 


398  HISTORY   OF  THE  FOUE   GEOEGES. 

men  as  the  paramount  interests  in  the  empire.  Mr.  Huskisson 
may  justly  be  denominated  as  the  most  consummate  master  of 
the  science  of  finance  who  has  ever  held  a  seat  in  the  British 
Cabinet.  His  statistical  and  commercial  information  was  vast, 
diversified,  and  accurate,  and  merchants  and  manufacturers  dis- 
covered in  him  a  more  profound  acquaintance  with  all  the  details 
of  their  respective  interests  and  pursuits  than  they  themselves  pos- 
sessed. His  talents  indeed  were  all  of  the  solid,  useful,  and  practi- 
cal description  ;  he  was  totally  destitute  of  every  sho^vy  and  glit- 
tering quality,  yet  on  financial  questions  he  was  an  able  debater ; 
his  judgment  was  slow  but  sure  and  safe  ;  and  the  influence  which 
he  exerted  over  the  men  of  weight  and  substance  in  parliament  was 
deservedly  absolute.  He  was  in  general  the  advocate  of  liberal 
measures.  During  many  years  he  had  been  the  associate  of 
Pitt  and  Dundas  in  the  cabinet ;  and  after  the  accession  of  Mr, 
Canning  to  power  became  his  most  able  and  powerful  coadjutor. 
He  directed  special  attention  to  the  British  Navigation  Laws ; 
and  having  devised,  he  proposed  and  carried  through,  the  commer- 
cial policy  known  as  the  Eeciprocity  system,  which  may  be  more 
properly  designated  as  the  law  of  commercial  retaliation,  a  pa- 
cific war  of  tariffs.  Other  nations  allowed  a  premium  of  ten  per 
cent,  on  all  articles  imported  into  them  by  their  own  vessels, 
thus  in  substance  imposing  a  similar  duty  on  the  cargoes  of  all 
foreign  vessels.  By  the  Eeciprocity  system  of  Mr.  Huskisson 
the  same  enactment  was  passed  and  observed  by  the  British  gov- 
ernment in  reference  to  all  the  goods  imported  into  British  ports. 
Thus,  in  1823,  reciprocity  treaties  based  on  this  principle  were 
established  with  all  the  chief  commercial  communities  on  the 
globe ;  and  soon  the  most  beneficial  results  were  found  to  accrue 
to  the  pecuniary  interests  of  the  nation. 

When  the  year  1825  opened,  the  financial  condition  of  the 
empire  was  in  the  highest  degree  prosperous  ;  before  its  close,  a 
dark  cloud  overhung  the  political  heavens  and  an  imminent  crisis 
occurred  in  its  fate.  The  leading  members  of  the  Cabinet,  of  which 
Mr.  Canning  was  the  gifted  head,  successively  proposed  measures 
of  a  liberal  and  enlightened  nature,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOKGE  THE  FOURTH.      399 

lay  themselves  open  to  the  taunt  of  the  extreme  Whigs,  that  they 
had,  while  openly  retaining  the  name  of  Tory,  espoused  opinions 
to  which  Tories  had  ever  been  absolutely  hostile.  This  insinua- 
tion was  even  boldly  made  by  Mr.  Brougham,  the  leader  of  the 
Whig  opposition  in  Parliament ;  and  he  declared  that  the  chief 
credit  of  the  libei-al  measures  of  the  government  was  due  to  the 
radicals,  who  had  in  reality  themselves  devised  and  first  proposed 
them.  This  singular  assertion  drew  from  Mr.  Canning  a  retort, 
the  mingled  wit  and  severity  of  which  has  rendered  it  historical. 
He  said  that  this  claim  of  the  Whig  leader  reminded  him  of  a 
certain  dramatic  writer  named  Dennis,  who  flourished  in  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne ;  and  who  unfortunately  labored  under  the 
insane  delusion  that  he  was  himself  the  author  of  all  the  popular 
plays  of  the  time.  Thus  when  a  new  and  successful  tragedy  was 
produced  in  which  a  prodigious  quantity  of  hail  and  thunder 
abounded,  the  incensed  Dennis  exclaimed  from  the  pit :  "  They 
have  stolen  my  thunder  !  "  Thus,  said  ]Mr.  Canning,  did  his  elo- 
quent opponent  assert,  when  any  new  measure  was  proposed  by 
any  party  whatever  for  the  promotion  of  the  prosperity  of  the 
nation  ;  he  claimed  it  for  his  thunder  !  * 

The  conclusion  of  1825  was  marked  by  a  terrible  commercial 
panic,  which  greatly  crippled  the  energies  of  the  empire.  Vast 
quantities  of  the  precious  metals  had  been  extracted  from  the 
realm  and  exported  to  foreign  countries.  In  a  fcAv  months  the 
bullion  in  the  Bank  of  England  sank  from  twelve  millions  to  less 
than  two  millions.  The  existing  paper  currency,  whose  value 
depended  solely  upon  the  actual  pressure  of  that  treasure  which 
it  was  intended  to  represent,  became  comparatively  worthless ; 
confidence  was  lost ;  commerce,  both  domestic  and  foreign,  was 
greatly  circumscribed ;  and  consternation  and  distress  pervaded 
every  class  of  the  community,  in  the  midst  of  this  great  peril, 
the  resources  of  Mr.  Canning  and  his  associates  did  not  fail  them  ; 
and  after  some  deliberation,  a  measure  of  relief  was  devised  which 
proved  efficacious  in  averting  coming  evils,  and  in  remedying 
those  which  already  existed.    The  Bank  of  England  was  authorized 

*  Parliamentary  Debates,  Yol.  xii.,  p.  25. 


400  HISTORY   OF   THE  FOUE   GEORGES. 

by  Act  of  Parliament  to  issue  notes  for  country  circulation  of  the 
denomination  of  one  and  two  pounds  ;  and  these  notes,  immedi- 
ately passing  into  universal  use,  supplied  the  place  in  a  great 
measure  of  the  real  though  absent  currency  of  the  country.  By 
this  means  the  threatened  crisis  -was  averted ;  money,  or  that 
M'hich  possessed  all  the  omnific  attributes  and  prerogatives  of 
money,  become  accessible  to  all  classes  of  the  community  ;  and 
the  circulation  of  the  Bank  of  England  increased  during  the  lapse 
of  four  weeks  in  the  month  of  December,  1825,  from  seventeen 
million  pounds  to  twenty-five  and  a  half  millions.  In  the  ac- 
complishment of  all  these  results,  so  far  as  George  IV.  was  con- 
cerned, he  acted  merely  as  the  supple  and  compliant  tool  of  the 
sagacious  statesmen,  who,  happily  for  the  welfare  of  the  empire, 
then  firmly  held  the  potent  wand  of  power. 


CHAPTEE   YIII, 


Disturbed  stato  of  Ireland— Miseries  endured  by  the  Laboring  Classes — Establishment 
of  Secret  Societies — The  Catholic  Association— The  Talents  and  Influence  of  Daniel 
O'Conuell — Agitation  in  favor  of  Irish  Emancipation — Kcpeal  of  the  Corn  Laws  Pro- 
posed— Death  of  Lord  Liverpool — Dilemma  of  George  IV. — Mr.  Canning  becomes 
Premier — His  Death — Lord  Goderich  succeeds  him  and  resigns — Duke  of  "Wellington 
becomes  Prime  Minister — Opposition  of  George  IV.  to  Catholic  Emancipation- 
Passage  of  the  Catholic  Eelief  Bill — English  antipathy  to  Papists  and  Jesuits — • 
Parliamentary  Eeform  BiU  introduced — Illness  of  George  IV.— His  Death — His 
Character, 


The  unfortunate  and  disturbed  condition  of  Ireland  constituted 
for  some  years  the  source  of  much  uneasiness  to  the  government 
of  George  IV.  During  many  generations  the  English  rulers  of 
that  fertile  and  once  prosperous  island  tyrannized  over  its  unfor- 
tunate inhabitants  in  every  imaginable  way  ;  and  the  laws  by 
which  the  latter  were  governed  Avere  a  blot  on  justice,  and  a  dis- 
grace to  Anglo-Saxon  legislation.  The  constant  effect  produced 
by  these  laws  was  the  diffusion  of  poverty,  distress,  outrages 
without  number,  disaffection  toward  the  government,  internal 
feuds,  and  every  species  of  misfortune  Avhich  man  can  inflict  or 
suffer.  The  pampered  proprietors  of  the  land,  after  extorting 
the  utmost  farthing  from  the  despairing  and  starving  wretches 
who  tilled  their  fields,  wasted  their  revenues  in  the  expensive 
pleasures  and  luxurious  vices  of  European  capitals,  and  rarely 
resided  in  their  native  country.  At  length  a  proposition  was  made 
by  the  Irish  land-owners  to  introduce  Scotch  and  English  hus- 
bandmen into  the  occupancy  of  their  lands,  as  being  more  thrifty 
and  more  profitable,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  native  farmers. 
This  infamous  proposal  immediately  led  to  outbursts  of  violence 


402  HISTORY   OF   THE  FOrK   GEOEGES. 

and  indignation  from  those  unfortunate  men  ;  and  they  attempted 
to  avert  so  ruinous  9-  result  by  the  formation  of  secret  societies, 
^yhich  were  known  by  the  epithet  of  Ribbonmen.  To  oppose  the 
threatened  purposes  of  these  organizations  all  of  whose  members 
were  Roman  Catholics,  the  Protestant  residents  and  land-owners 
established  hostile  associations  under  the  name  of  Orange  Lodges, 
which  were  also  secret  in  their  measures  and  regulations.  The 
frequent  conflicts  Avhich  subsequently  occurred  between  these 
two  organizations,  form  the  bloodiest  page  in  the  vexed  and  disas- 
trous annals  of  Ireland  ;  and  innumerable  crimes  and  reciprocal 
wrongs  were  perpetrated  by  them,  which  have  scarcely  a  parallel 
in  the  domestic  history  of  nations.* 

Evils  so  great  as  these  naturally  forced  themselves  upon  the 
attention  of  English  and  Irish  statesmen,  and  various  remedies 
for  them  were  proposed.  Thirteen  million  pounds  sterling  were 
yearly  extorted  from  the  Irish  peasantry  by  the  land-o^vners ; 
and  ficts  like  these  goaded  the  sufferers  on  at  length  to  the  adop- 
tion of  active  measures  of  relief  The  Catholic  Association  was 
established  at  Dublin  in  ]  824.  The  avowed  purposes  of  this 
association  were  to  petition  Parliament  for  a  redress  of  griev- 
ances ;  to  resist  the  operations  of  the  Orange  Lodges  ;  to  estab- 
lish and  support  a  free  Irish  press ;  to  obtain  the  repeal  of  the 
Union  between  England  and  Ireland ;  and  until  that  event  was 
realized,  to  secure  the  admission  of  Eoman  Catholic  peers  into  the 
British  House  of  Lords,  and  Roman  Catholic  representatives  into 
the  British  House  of  Commons,  Meantime  the  advocates  of  the 
interests  of  Ireland  in  the  English  legislature  were  not  silent.  A 
long  and  violent  contest  ensued  throughout  both  countries  in 
reference  to  the  heavy  grievances  and  the  plundered  rights  of 
Ireland.  A  bill  was  brought  forward  in  the  Commons  in  1825, 
by  Mr.  Goulburn,  providing  for  the  suppression  of  the  Catholic 
Association  in  Ireland,  and  its  tributary  branches  in  England. 
This  bill  was  strenuously  supported  by  the  ministry  and  govern- 
ment, but  was  fiercely  opposed  by  the  whole  Whig  party,  and  by 
the  Catholic  interest  in  parliament.     It  was  eventually  passed 

*  Porter's  Progress  oj  the  IfaUon,  658,  667. 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  FOrETH.  403 

after  a  prodigious  contest ;  but  its  effects  were  immediately  par- 
alyzed by  the  instant  dissolution  of  the  Association,  and  by  the 
establishment  of  a  new  society  having  in  view  the  same  ultimate 
purposes,  but  evading  those  features  which  would  have  rendered 
it  obnoxious  to  the  bill.* 

At  this  period  Daniel  O'Connell,  the  ablest  statesman  whom 
Ireland  has  ever  produced,  and  who  was  singularly  adapted  for  the 
crisis  by  his  great  talents,  by.  his  unconquerable  perseverance, 
by  his  superior  skill,  and  by  his  dauntless  intrepidity,  appeared 
upon  the  stage.  The  elective  franchise  had  been  extended  in 
some  measure  to  the  Irish  Catholics  by  a  bill  introduced  by  Mr. 
Pitt  in  1793  ;  and  under  the  operation  of  this  law,  Mr.  O'Connell 
was  chosen  to  represent  the  county  of  Clare  in  parliament.  From 
that  moment  he  became  one  of  the  master  spirits  in  the  British 
Legislature.  His  first  triumph,  which  was  in  substance  an  eva- 
sion, appertained  to  his  right  to  a  seat  in  parliament  without  tak- 
ing the  test  oaths  ;  and  the  effect  produced  by  it  upon  his  parti- 
sans throughout  Ireland  was  so  immense,  that  universal  rejoicings 
and  tumultuous  exultations  pervaded  every  extremity  of  that  land, 
where  mourning  and  tears  had  been  during  so  many  generations 
the  unvarying  portion  of  the  unhappy  people. 

Meanwhile  other  public  interests  demanded  the  attention  and 
excited  the  solicitude  of  British  statesmen.  During  182G  all 
classes  of  the  nation  were  depressed  and  afflicted  by  the  pecuni- 
ary difficulties  in  which  they  were  involved.  The  manufacturers 
found  that  their  orders  decreased.  The  banks  refused  to  lend 
money  on  any  conditions.  An  infinite  number  of  workmen  were 
thrown  out  of  employment ;  and  another  scene  of  general  bank- 
ruptcy seemed  to  be  impending.  The  ministers  deliberated 
anxiously  upon  the  measures  which  should  be  adopted  to  restore 
financial  confidence ;  and  they  at  length  resolved  upon  the  ex- 
pedient of  suppressing  the  use  of  all  paper  money  at  and  under 
the  denomination  of  one  pound.  It  was  supposed  that,  by  the 
introduction  of  gold  and  silver  into  the  small  circulation  of  the 
country,  the  existing  evils  would  be  removed.     And  when  we 

*  Parliamentary  Debates,  Vol.  xii.,  214,  229. 


404  HISTOEY   OF  THE   FOUE   GEORGES. 

remembei-  that  such  sagacious  statesmen  as  Lord  Liverpool,  then 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  Mr.  Huskisson,  and  Mr.  Canning, 
approved  of  the  measui'e,  we  must  admit  its  wisdom  and  expe- 
diency. The  bill  to  abolish  small  bank  notes  was  carried  in  both 
Houses  of  Parliament  by  a  large  majority.  The  effects  produced 
by  this  measure  were  such  as  its  authors  had  anticipated ;  and 
by  the  immediate  rise  in  the  price  of  various  commodities,  and 
by  the  remuneration  earned  by  operatives  of  every  description, 
a  better  condition  of  the  finances  and  the  currency  was  attained. 

The  year  1826  rendered  the  reign  of  George  IV.  remark- 
able as  being  the  period  when  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws  was 
first  proposed  and  introduced  into  the  discussions  of  Parliament. 
The  object  of  this  repeal  was  the  removal  of  those  duties  and 
restrictions  which  then  impeded  the  importation  of  foreign  grain 
into  England,  and  which  increased  the  price  of  breadstuff's  by  the 
exorbitant  duties  which  were  levied  upon  them.  This  repeal 
was  strenuously  resisted  by  the  ministerial  party  at  this  period ; 
and  it  was  negatived  when  finally  pressed  to  a  vote  in  the  Com- 
mons, to  be  renewed  however  at  a  subsequent  period  with  a  dif- 
ferent and  more  desirable  result.  During  1827  the  fiiiancial 
state  of  the  nation  greatly  improved.  At  the  opening  of  the 
year  several  events  of  importance  occurred  which  were  calculated 
to  produce  a  permanent  effect,  both  upon  the  feelings  of  the 
monarch  and  upon  the  destiny  of  the  nation.  On  the  5th  of 
January  the  Duke  of  York,  the  heir  apparent  to  the  throne,  ex- 
pired ;  and  a  few  days  afterward  he  was  followed  to  the  tomb  by 
Lord  Liverpool,  who,  since  1812,  had  occupied  the  chief  posts  of 
influence  and  power  in  the  government  of  the  country.  By  the 
death  of  the  first  personage  the  king  was  left  without  the  counsel 
and  sympathy  of  his  most  intimate  and  trusted  friend ;  by  the 
death  of  the  second  he  was  deprived  of  the  services,  not  of  one  of 
the  ablest,  but  of  one  of  the  most  prudent,  adroit,  and  conserva- 
tive ministers,  who  ever  controlled  the  destinies  of  England. 

On  the  death  of  this  experienced  statesman  George  IV.  was 
placed  in  a  painful  dilemma.  The  Whig  or  Liberal  party  ruled 
in  the  House  of  Commons  with  almost  absolute  majorities.     It 


LITE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FOURTH.  405 

would  have  been  vain  for  the  king  to  call  to  his  counsels  a  Tory- 
Cabinet  ;  for  advisers  of  that  party  would  have  been  unable  to 
carry  a  single  measure  through  either  House  of  Parliament.  He 
was  at  last  compelled  to  have  recourse  to  the  services  of  the  very 
^_  men  whom  he  had  often  betrayed,  and  whom  he  therefore  most 
intensely  hated.  But  of  the  great  Whig  leaders,  several  were 
personally  obnoxious  to  him  beyond  all  endurance  ;  and  an 
accommodation  with  them  was  utterly  impossible.  The  chief  of 
these  was  Mr.  Brougham,  the  bold,  fearless,  and  gifted  advocate,*!* 
who  had  defended  the  injured  queen  against  the  formidable  con- 
spiracy which  her  husband  had  organized  against  her  ;  and  who,  in 
the  performance  of  his  professional  duty  on  that  memorable  oc- 
casion, had  savagely,  though  not  unjustly,  slaughtered  the  character 
and  principles  of  the  august  prosecutor.  He  must  necessarily  be 
excluded  from  the  Cabinet.  Mr.  Canning,  the  next  in  genius  and 
in  influence  to  Mr.  Brougham,  was  also  distasteful  to  the  haughty 
monarch  ;  for  he  too  had  been  one  of  the  advisers  of  the  detested 
queen.  Nevertheless  there  was  eventually  no  other  alternative 
left  for  the  harrassed  monarch  ;  he  must  accept  Whig  ministers, 
and  not  even  obscure  or  second-rate  politicians,  but  those 
who  occupied  the  leading  positions  in  the  government  of  their 
party.  Mr.  Canning  therefore  became  first  Lord  of  the  Treasury 
and  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  ;  Lord  Lyndhurst  was  appointed 
Lord  Chancellor  ;  the  Duke  of  Portland  to  the  Privy  Seal ;  Mr. 
Huskisson  was  made  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  was  succeeded  by  the  Marquis  of  Anglesea 
as  Grand  Master  of  the  Ordnance. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Canning  proved  to  be  a  brilliant 
but  a  short  one.  During  his  supremacy  the  subject  of  parlia- 
mentary reform  became  the  paramount  theme  of  agitation  in  the 
nation.  The  shocking  extremes  of  bribery  which  had  been  re- 
peatedly perpetrated  in  the  election  of  members  of  Parliament ; 
and  especially  the  fearful  degree  of  coi-ruption  which  was  prac- 
tised, and  which  had  been  suddenly  exposed,  in  the  boroughs  of 
East  Retford  and  Penryn,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  whole 
nation  to  the  subject.     A  bill  was  immediately  introduced  into 


406  HISTOKT   OF  THE  FOUE   GEOEGES. 

parliament  and  passed  by  large  majorities  disfranchising  both  of 
these  boroughs.  This  was  one  of  the  last  triumphs  which  Mr. 
Canning  was  destined  to  achieve.  He  expired,  after  a  very  sud- 
den and  brief  illness,  in  August,  1827,  to  the  great  regret  of  a 
nation  which  admired  his  talents,  commended  his  principles,  and 
supported  his  measures.  The  sensation  produced'by  the  death 
of  this  illustrious  man  was  universal  and  profound.  The  most 
extravagant  expectations  had  been  formed  in  reference  to  his 
-future  usefulness,  all  of  which  were  blighted  by  his  premature 
death. 

Lord  Goderich  succeeded  Mr.  Canning  in  the  premiership  ; 
and  the  resemblance  which  existed  between  these  two  men  was 
very  much  like  the  similitude  of  Hyperion  to  a  satyr.  Durmg  the 
short  period  of  the  troubled  existence  of  this  administration,  the 
inefficiency  and  the  pernicious  blunders  which  characterized  it 
rendered  it  the  object  of  universal  contempt ;  and  it  terminated 
ignomiuiously  in  January,  1828.  Lord  Wellington  was  then  in- 
vited by  the  distracted  and  now  enfeebled  monarch  to  assume 
the  chief  direction  of  affairs.  The  liberal  Tories  who  were  al- 
ready in  the  cabinet  retained  their  seats,  but  all  the  stringent 
Whigs  resigned.  Mr.  Peel  was  appointed  Home  Secretary ;  Earl 
Bathurst,  President  of  the  Councils ;  while  Messrs.  Huskisson, 
Palmerston,  and  Lord  Dudley  remained  in  their  former  offices. 
The  last  three  statesmen  resigned  in  the  following  May,  and  the 
Wellington  cabinet  underwent  a  reconstruction,  by  which  Sir 
George  Murray  succeeded  Mr.  Huskisson,  Lord  Aberdeen  took 
the  post  of  Lord  Dudley,  and  Sir  Henry  Hardinge  replaced  Lord 
Palmerston. 

This  cabinet  was  called  upon  at  the  opening  of  its  career  to 
dispose  of  two  measures  of  vital  importance  to  the  nation  :  the 
Eepeal  of  the  Corn  Laws,  and  the  abolition  of  the  Test  and  Cor- 
poration Acts.  The  latter  of  these  was  but  a  preparatory  step 
to  the  final  triumph  of  Catholic  emancipation.  Both  measures 
passed  through  both  Houses  of  Parliament  during  the  winter  of 
1828 ;  and  thus  clearly  indicated  the  gigantic  strides  which  en- 
lightened principles  were  then  making,  in  what  had  formerly  been 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE   FOURTH.  407 

one  of  the  most  conservative  and  illiberal  communities  which  ex- 
isted in  the  civilized  world,  in  which  the  antiquated  prerogatives 
of  a  privileged  class  had  ever  been  guarded  with  unparalleled 
jealousy  and  pertinacity.  George  IV.  was  at  this  period  of  his 
life  hostile  to  any  movement  of  reform,  and  especially  to  any 
advancement  of  the  interests,  or  enlargment  of  the  liberties  of 
the  Roman  Catholics.  He  complained  to  Lord  Eldon  that  every 
thing  had  taken  a  revolutionary  turn ;  that  he  had  frequently  and 
vainly  suggested  to  his  ministers  the  necessity  of  crushing  the 
Roman  Catholic  Association,  and  of  even  suspending  the  Habeas 
Corpus  Act ;  that  he  himself  was  in  the  perilous  position  of  a 
person  with  a  pistol  presented  to  his  breast ;  and  that  even  the 
aristocracy  of  the  realm,  which  had  ever  been  characterized  by  its 
opposition  to  popular  movements,  seemed  to  have  deserted  him 
and  to  have  joined  his  adversaries.  It  was  scarcely  possible  for 
George  IV.  to  entertain  any  settled  pi'inciples  on  any  subject, 
except  such  as  were  exclusively  dictated  by  a  regard  to  his  own 
interests  ;  and  this  attribute  of  his  character  clearly  appears  even 
in  his  apparently  pious  antagonism  to  the  Roman  Catholics.  He 
was  bitterly  opposed  to  Catholic  emancipation  because  he  believed 
that  his  title  to  the  throne,  the  security  of  his  claims,  and  the 
undiminished  amplitude  of  his  power,  all  depended  upon  his  firm 
and  unbending  devotion  to  the  Protestant  interests.  He  well 
knew  that  the  Protestantism  of  the  house  of  Hanover  was  the 
only  quality  which  had  elevated  them  to  the  British  throne  in  the 
first  instance  ;  that  their  Protestantism  was  the  single  feature  of 
their  character  which  still  recommended  them  to  the  favor  of  the 
British  nation  ;  and  that  the  moment  their  Protestanism  seemed 
to  diminish  in  its  intensity  and  fervor,  that  moment  they  loosened 
their  grasp  of  an  unmerited  sceptre.  Therefore  it  was  that  the 
king  felt  the  necessity  of  exhibiting  the  utmost  hostility  to  every 
thing  which  bore  the  impress  of  Romanism ;  and  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  clearly  evmce  that  he  would  have  been  oppo- 
sed to  any  measure,  had  it  been  the  most  reasonable  and  equit- 
able in  the  world,  if  its  support  would  have  thrown  the  least 


408  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUU   GEOEGES. 

suspicion  on  the  purity  and  excess  of  his  adhesion  to  the  Protes- 
tant interests.* 

This  assertion  is  clearly  proved  by  the  fact  that,  though  all 
the  members  of  the  existing  cabinet  had  been  formerly  opposed 
to  Catholic  emancipation,  their  enlightened  and  sagacious  appre- 
ciation of  the  state  of  the  kingdom  convinced  them  of  the  falsity 
of  their  first  position,  and  induced  them  to  support  and  approve 
the  measure.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  had  formerly  resisted 
any  such  mx)vement.  Sir  Robert  Peel  had  spoken  violently  against 
it  in  parliament.  Lord  Lyndhurst,  Mr.  Goulburn,  Mr.  Dawson, 
had  acted  prominently  in  opposition  to  the  Romanists.  They  all 
now  veered  round  suddenly  and  unanimously  to  the  opposite 
policy  ;  and  gave  the  king  plainly  to  understand  that  the  period 
for  the  triumph  of  Catholic  emancipation  could  no  longer  be  re- 
sisted or  postponed. 

To  accelerate  a  result  which  was  now  considered  ine\itable, 
the  champions  of  the  Irish  Catholics  also  continued  their  agitation 
of  the  subject.  On  this  potent  hobby  Mr.  O'Comiell  rose  to  the 
summit  of  popular  fame  and  adulation.  He  kindled  a  conflagra- 
tion throughout  Ireland  which  could  be  suppressed  by  no  human 
power ;  and  every  possible  expedient  was  used  to  inflame  the 
minds  and  excite  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Irish  Catholics  in  favor  of 
their  own  speedy  and  complete  emancipation  from  those  unjust 
inflictions  under  which  they  and  their  ancestors  had  so  long 
suffered.  When  Parliament  met  in  February,  1829,  the  moral 
power  wielded  by  their  leaders,  and  especially  by  Mr.  O'Con- 
nell,  was  prodigious ;  yet  in  his  speech  from  the  throne  the  king 

*  Another  motive  has  heen  assigned  as  the  cause  of  the  intense  opposition 
of  George  IV.  to  Catholic  emancipation.  It  is  well  known  that  while  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  even  while  Regent,  he  had  publicly  declared  himself  to  be  the  friend 
of  that  measure,  and  had  promised  that,  when  invested  with  the  full  prerogatives 
of  the  Crown,  he  would  effectively  promote  its  consummation.  After  his  ac- 
cession he  became  bitterly  opposed  to  it ;  and  it  is  asserted  that  one  cause  of 
this  change  in  his  feelings  was  the  influence  exerted  upon  his  mind  by  Lady 
Yarmouth,  Marchioness  of  Hertford,  one  of  his  mistresses,  who  entertained  a 
deep  aversion  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  See  Chambers'  Papers  for  tTie  People, 
Vol.  iv.,  ad  Jim,. 


LIFE  AND  REIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  409 

gave  utterance  for  the  last  time  to  his  opposition  to  the  claims  of 
the  Romanists  ;  and  he  lamented  that  an  association  still  existed 
in  Ireland  which  was  dangerous  to  the  public  peace  ;  which  was 
inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  the  constitution  ;  which  produced 
discord  and  ill-will  among  his  subjects  ;  and  which  in  reality  only- 
impeded  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  Ireland.  Soon  after 
the  opening  of  the  session  Mr.  Peel  moved  for  permission  to  in- 
troduce a  bill  granting  all  the  demands  of  the  Catholics.  This 
proposition,  and  the  subsequent  introduction  of  the  bill  itself, 
opened  -wide  the  field  of  discussion  ;  and  all  the  bearings  of  the 
case  were  fully  and  amply  investigated  in  the  deliberations  which 
ensued.  The  bill  was  eventually  carried  in  the  house  of  Peers 
by  a  majority  of  a  hundred  and  four  votes,  and  in  the  Commons 
by  a  plurality  of  a  hundred  and  seventy-eight.* 

The  passage  of  the  Catholic  Relief  Bill  by  the  British  Parlia- 
ment was  one  of  the  most  significant  events  of  modern  times.  It 
illustrated  the  triumphant  progress  of  free  principles.  The  argu- 
ments urged  in  favor  of  it  were  conclusive  and  powerful.  The 
whole  measure  was  based  upon  the  broad  and  comprehensive 
principle  of  the  natural  rights  of  man,  one  of  the  fundamental  and 
most  indefeasible  of  which  is  that  of  thinking  and  acting  freely 
on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  being  exempt  from  all  penalties, 
personal  or  political,  in  consequence  of  the  exercise  of  that  free- 
dom. Nor  could  any  government  claim  to  be  a  free  or  enlight- 
ened government  which  did  not  recognize  this  cardinal  doctrine 
and  act  according  to  it.  Five  millions  out  of  seven  millions  of 
Irishmen  were  Catholics  by  conviction  ;  they  regarded  the  Church 
of  Rome  as  the  only  source  of  religious  truth ;  they  believed 
themselves  to  be  under  moral  obligations  to  obey  the  mandates 
and  the  precepts  of  that  church,  on  the  peril  of  the  loss  of  their 
souls ;  meanwhile  they  bore  a  portion  of  the  burdens  of  the 
general  government  under  which  they  lived ;  they  were  for  the 
most  part  industrious  and  valuable  citizens  ;  they  constituted  a 
most  important  integral  part  of  the  empire ;  and  in  addition  to 
all  these  considerations,  they  had  already  been  compelled  to  en- 

*  Parliamentary  Debates,  xx.,  898, 1631. 

18 


410  HISTOKY   OF   THE   FOUK   GEOKGES. 

dure  the  most  infamous  and  tyrannical  abuses  from  the  class 
whom  an  unpropitious  fortune  had  placed  in  a  dominant  position 
over  them.  It  was  high  time  that  such  tyranny  should  termin- 
ate ;  and  that  a  too  tardy  justice  should  be  done  to  the  political 
and  religious  rights  of  the  Catholic  inhabitants  of  Ireland. 

Nor  was  the  other  side  of  this  great  question  devoid  of  potent 
and  seemingly  conclusive  arguments.  It  was  urged  by  the  oppo- 
nents of  Catholic  emancipation  that  the  constitution  of  Great 
Britain  was  essentially  a  Protestant  constitution ;  that  it  was 
formed  by  Protestants  for  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  Prot- 
estants ;  that  it  was  one  of  the  dogmas  of  the  Ptoman  Catholic 
Church,  that  its  members  should  obey  any  foreign  potentate  who 
was  a  Catholic,  in  preference  to  a  native  prince  who  was  a  heretic ; 
and  that  therefore  the  Irish  Catholics  did  not  deserve  the  protec- 
tion of  a  Protestant  government.  In  addition  to  this  it  might 
be  urged,  that  the  past  liistory  of  the  Romanists  in  England 
had  not  been  such  as  to  commend  them  to  the  acquisition  of 
greater  power  in  the  state.  They  had  often  proved  themselves 
to  be  dangerous  and  ambitious  subjects.  They  had  exhibited  an 
appalling  degree  of  cruelty  and  ferocity  on  many  critical  occa- 
sions when  their  religion  came  in  question,  which  had  threatened 
entirely  to  overturn  the  fabric  of  the  government.  The  chill- 
ing memory  of  Gunpowder  Plots  and  Rye  House  Plots  came 
over  the  minds  of  some ;  and  others  remembered  how  the 
intri<Tues  and  machinations  of  Romish  priests  and  emissaries, 
during  the  reign  of  Queen  JNIary  and  even  of  James  II.,  had  well 
nigh  brought  the  kingdom  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  The  experience 
of  the  past  had  taught  them,  that  of  all  the  organizations  on  this 
earth  which  were  most  to  be  feared  and  dreaded,  that  of  the  Jes- 
uits was  the  most  formidable  ;  and  they  inferred  that  with  the  re- 
moval of  the  disabilities  from  the  Roman  Catholics,  this  hated 
order  would  again  be  introduced,  and  would  overflow  a  country 
from  which  they  had  long  been  excluded  at  the  peril  of  their 
lives.  Nor  was  this  dread  of  the  order  of  Jesus  unfounded 
or  unreasonable.  The  history  of  modern  times  presents  no 
organization  of  men  so   powerful,  compact,  untiring,    and  un- 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   FOmTH.  411 

scrupulous  as  it  is.  We  may  contemplate  the  daring  exploits  and 
reckless  intrepidity  of  the  legions  of  Imperial  Rome,  selling  the 
diadem  of  the  world's  dominion  to  the  highest  bidder,  sometimes 
on  the  plains  of  Gaul,  sometimes  amid  the  snows  of  Parthia  ;  we 
may  peruse  the  deeds  of  the  terrible  Janissaries,  for  so  many 
ages  the  bulwark  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  whose  unyielding  valor 
has  been  conspicuous  in  some  of  the  greatest  of  conquests ;  we 
may  trace  the  career  of  the  Imperial  Guard  of  Napoleon,  rudely 
battered  yet  invincible  on  a  hundred  fields  of  blood,  whose  eagles 
soared  in  martial  glory  beneath  the  burning  sun  of  Egypt,  as 
amid  the  wintry  storms  of  Russia,  and  who  remained  faithful  to 
the  last  to  the  marvellous  fortunes  of  their  illustrious  chief;  yet 
all  these  illustrations  would  fail  to  convey  an  adequate  conception 
of  the  real  character  of  this  wonderful  order.  With  them,  all 
personal  and  individual  interests,  the  claims  of  ease  or  of  ambi- 
tion, are  alike  buried  in  oblivion,  or  merged  in  their  absorbing 
devotion  to  the  progress  and  triumj)hs  of  the  Romish  chxirch. 
It  is  a  joy  to  them  to  forsake  all  the  endearments  of  early  asso- 
ciation, to  cross  wide  oceans,  to  penetrate  remote  climes,  to  sacri- 
fice the  strongest  ties  of  human  existence,  to  labor,  to  teach,  to 
preach,  to  intrigue,  t»-  suffer,  and  at  last  to  perish,  either  in  the 
crowded  capital,  or  as  solitary  exiles  in  the  most  distant  recesses 
of  human  abode,  for  the  aggrandizement  of  the  church,  for  the 
extension  of  her  power,  and  for  the  enlargement  of  her  suprem- 
acv.  Nor  does  the  dreaded  agency  of  the  Jesuit  terminate  here. 
He  is  most  to  be  feared  in  the  domestic  circle,  and  in  the  confes- 
sional. There  he  extorts  revelations  from  female  lips  which  the 
husband  and  father  never  hear.  Like  an  insidious  viper  he 
stealthily  crawls  into  the  inmost  sanctuary  of  a  man's  home ; 
and  with  subtle  power  he  dispenses  discord,  disaffection,  and 
treachery  to  which  there  is  no  possible  antidote.  He  exerts  a 
mysterious  and  baleful  influence  which  neither  parental,  frater- 
nal, nor  conjugal  authority  can  counterbalance.  The  Protestant 
father  will  exercise  but  little  control  over  children  whose  mother 
is  one  of  the  passive  victims  of  Jesuitical  enchantment.  His  off- 
spring will  scorn  him ;  the  partner  of  his  bosom  will  distrust 


412  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOTJE   GEORGES. 

him  ;  her  spiritual  adviser  will  know  all  his  affairs ;  while  living 
he  will  thwart  his  purposes,  and  when  dead  he  will  control  his 
property  ;  and  he  is  a  mere  tool  in  the  hands  of  an  unknown  foe, 
who  secretly  and  perniciously  directs  the  main  current  of  his  des- 
tiny, and  of  those  most  intimately  connected  with  him  * 

The  past  experience  of  the  English  people  had  amply  taught 
them  the  perilous  nature  of  this  order,  so  justly  termed  the  Jan- 
issaries de  Veglise ;  and  some  of  them  naturally  apprehended  that, 
by  the  passage  of  the  Catholic  Relief  Bill,  the  door  would  be 
opened  for  the  reintroduction  of  the  evils  and  calamities  of  the 
past ;  perhaps  for  the  eventual  triumphs  of  Popery  throughout 
the  kmgdom  ;  and  even  for  the  return  of  the  exiled  Stuarts. 
They  supposed  that  the  Church  of  Rome  never  changes  in  its 
character  and  principles  with  the  lapse  of  time ;  and  that  the 
same  events  would  probably  be  brought  about  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  which  had  occurred  in  the  seventeenth,  if  the  Romanists 
regained  the  possession  of  power.f  Hence  they  entertained  the 
utmost  horror  and  dread  of  any  reform  which  might  by  any  pos- 
sibility lead  to  so  disastrous  a  result. 

Yet,  singular  as  it  may  appear,  that  party  in  the  nation  who 
then  held  these  sentiments  proved  to  be  greatly  in  the  minority. 
The  bill  having  passed  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  was  presented 
to  George  IV.  for  his  approval.  He  seems  on  this  occasion  to 
have  been  exercised  and  disturbed,  much  more  than  his  selfish 
nature  was  usually  capable.  Every  member  of  his  cabinet  was 
arrayed  against  him  ;  and  in  his  distress  he  sent  for  Lord  Eldon, 
the  aged  adviser  who  had  so  long  possessed  his  confidence.  He 
declared  to  him  the  painful  dilemma  in  which  he  was  placed ; 
how  he  detested  and  feared  the  passage  of  this  bill ;  how  all  his 

*  In  proof  of  this  see  "  Instrndions  Secretes  des  Jesuites,  ou  Monita  Secreta 
Soeietatis  Jesu."    Blois  ct  Paris,  1845. 

+  This  is  affirmed,  in  so  many  words,  by  many  of  the  Romish  standards.  See 
CatecMsm  of  Council  of  Trent,  p.  85,  Ques.  16.  Sed  quam  admodum  hsec  una 
ecclesia  errare  non  potest  in  fidei,  ac  morum  disciplina  tradenda,  quum  a  Spiritu 
Sancto  gubernatur :  ita  ceteras  omnes,  quse  sibi  ecclesise  nomen  arrogant,  ut  quso 
diaboli  spiritu  ducantur,  in  doctrinse,  et  morum  perniciosissimus  erroribus  ver- 
sari  necesse  est. 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FOUKTH.  413 

ministers  threatened  to  resign  if  he  did  not  sign  it ;  how  he  was 
deserted  by  the  nobility ;  how  he  was  hated  by  the  people ;  and 
how,  if  he  was  compelled  at  last  to  yield,  he  could  abandon  the 
throne,  and  retreat  to  the  repose  of  his  kingdom  of  Hanover. 
Finally  he  fell  upon  the  neck  of  the  venerable  Chancellor,  and 
gave  vent  to  his  grief  in  a  flood  of  tears.*  But  Lord  Eldon 
clearly  perceived  the  position  in  which  the  king  was  placed  ;  that 
it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  resist  the  overwhelming  flood 
of  popular  determination,  or  to  carry  on  the  functions  of  the 
government ;  and  he  also  advised  the  monarch  to  accede  to  the 
popular  will.  George  IV.  was  at  last  subdued  ;  and  with  an  un- 
willing heart  he  gave  the  bill  the  royal  assent  on  the  13th  of 
April,  1829,  by  commission  ;  thereby  indicating  to  the  world  that 
the  approval  was  that  of  the  cabinet  i-ather  than  of  the  sovereign. 
But  another  humiliation  almost  equally  gz-eat,  was  soon  in 
store  for  the  unfortunate  monarch.  Progress  and  reform  now 
became  the  detested  watchword  of  the  leading  parties  and  states- 
men of  the  day,  and  it  w^as  impossible  for  the  conservative  king 
to  predict,  or  even  to  conjecture,  where  these  things  would  ter- 
minate. The  radical  movement  took  the  shape  of  the  celebrated 
Reform  Bill ;  and  although  this  great  and  beneficent  measure  did 
not  reach  a  final  triumph  until  1832,  after  George  IV.  had  been 
laid  in  the  tomb,  its  vigorous  ajid  resolute  agitation  had  already 
commenced,  and  the  successes  which  the  progressive  party  had 
already  attained,  stimulated  them  only  to  the  accomplishment 
of  greater.  Financial  difiiculties  now  occurred,  which  furnished 
a  convenient  topic  for  agitation  and  declamation.  The  manufac- 
turing classes  of  England  in  1829,  were  greatly  depressed  by  the 
diminution  of  the  circulating  medium,  which  was  the  necessary 
result  of  the  abolition  of  the  small  note  paper  currency.  The 
results  which  usually  attend  financial  distress  followed.  Riots 
occurred  at  Coventry,  Nuneaton,  and  Bedworth  ;  strikes  for 
higher  wages  were  made  by  the  operatives  at  Macclesfield  and 
Barnesley  ;    and  in  Ireland,  the  old  feuds  between  the  Roman 

*  Alison's  History  of  Europe,  Second  Series,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  308. 


414:  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOrR   GEORGES. 

Catholics  aud  the  Orangemen  were  revived.  Collisions  took 
place  in  Armagh,  Benauglen,  and  Tipperary,  in  which  many- 
were  wounded  and  slain.  In  the  midst  of  these  troubles,  Par- 
liament met  in  February,  1830.  The  king  in  his  speech  from 
the  throne  adverted  to  the  existing  evils,  and  suggested  several 
desirable  measures  to  alleviate  them.  A  long  debate  ensued  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  upon  the  state  of  the  country.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington  was  still  premier  ;  but  his  position  was  be- 
coming one  of  great  difficulty.  He  proposed  measures  of  relief, 
which  were  not  approved  by  the  House  of  Commons.  Mr. 
Hume,  so  celebrated  for  his  pertinacious  adherence  during  many 
years  to  all  measures  of  retrenchment,  moved  for  a  reduction  of 
the  army  and  navy  as  an  incipient  step  of  relief;  but  his  mo- 
tion was  lost.  Mr.  Thompson  then  moved  for  a  revision  of  the 
system  of  taxation  ;  and  his  proposal  met  with  a  similar  fate. 
Mr.  Attwood  subsequently  proposed  a  bill  repealing  the  law 
which  abolished  the  use  of  bank  notes  under  the  value  of  five 
pounds.  But  the  House  was  equally  impracticable  in  this  case, 
and  this  measure  was  also  voted  down.  At  length  the  cabinet 
resolved  to  reduce  the  taxes,  as  being  the  most  direct  and  effica- 
cious remedy  of  the  existing  evils.  Accordingly  the  imposts  on 
beer,  leather,  and  cider  were  remitted,  which  annually  amounted 
to  the  sum  of  three  million  and  a  half  pounds  sterling.*  This 
measure  for  a  time  was  highly  successful ;  and  greatly  augment- 
ed the  popularity  of  the  ministers  ;  though  in  the  end  the  results 
produced  by  it  were  quite  insignificant  and  inadequate.  The 
next  expedient  of  relief  adopted,  was  the  abandonment  of  the 
sinking  fund,  by  which  means  the  sum  of  five  million  pounds, 
which  had  been  appropriated  yearly  to  the  diminution  of  the  na- 
tional debt,  would  be  employed  in  paying  the  current  expenses 
of  the  government.  This  measure  was  rendered  partially  neces- 
sary in  consequence  of  the  diminution  of  the  taxes  ;  and  it  was 
triumphantly  carried  through  both  Houses  of  Parliament.  It 
quickly  received  the  royal  approval ;  for  George  IV.,  with  the 

*  Parliamentary  Debates,  xxiii,  12A. 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE   THE  FOrRTn.  415 

advance  of  age,  and  the  increase  of  physical  weakness,  no  longer 
possessed  the  mental  power  to  resist  any  influence  which  might 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  him.  The  end  of  his  long,  voluptuous, 
yet  troubled  existence  had  at  length  arrived. 

The  king's  health  had  been  gradually  declining  during  the  last 
two  years  of  his  life.  He  was  afflicted  severely  with  the  gout, 
but  the  ossification  of  the  heart  had  begun,  and  was  rapidly  pro- 
gressing. The  severe  winter  of  1829  prevented  him  from  taking 
his  usual  exercise,  and  thus  hastened  the  fatal  termination.  At 
this  period  he  resided  in  his  Lodge  at  Windsor ;  and  whenever 
the  weather  permitted,  he  indulged  himself  in  his  favorite  drives 
through  the  ancient  and  magnificent  forests  which  adorn  that  do- 
main. He  was  particularly  averse  to  being  seen  by  any  of  the 
populace ;  and  to  prevent  such  an  amioyance,  servants  were 
stationed  at  the  corners  of  the  roads  which  he  traversed, 
extending  fifteen  and  tweny  miles  in  length,  for  the  purpose 
of  warning  off"  all  intruders  at  the  approach  of  his  Majesty. 
He  still  continued  to  hope  that  his  disease  might  not  prove 
fatal ;  and  he  undertook  some  repairs  upon  the  royal  lodge 
but  a  few  days  before  his  death.  He  was  intensely  anxious  that 
a  new  dining  hall  would  have  been  completed  before  his  ap- 
proaching birthday.  When  that  day  arrived,  the  king  had  been 
slumbering  for  a  month  in  the  unwelcome  embrace  of  the  tomb. 
So  inveterate  had  the  habit  of  ostentatious  trifling  become  with 
that  pampered  and  superficial  spirit !  The  king  rode  out  in  his 
open  carriage  for  the  last  time  on  the  l"2th  of  April ;  he  then 
passed  an  hour  in  his  menagerie.  Here  he  was  attacked  by  faint- 
ness,  by  a  dry  cough,  and  by  wheezing  respiration.  It  became 
apparent,  from  an  examination  which  was  subsequently  made  of 
the  respiratory  and  circulating  organs,  that  the  ossification  of  the 
heart  had  proceeded  a  great  length,  and  that  the  vital  functions 
could  not  much  longer  continue.  On  the  15th  of  April  the  first 
bulletin  was  issued  to  the  public,  stating  the  perilous  condition 
of  the  king.  He  continued  to  sink  rapidly  from  day  to  day,  not- 
withstanding the  utmost  efibrts  of  medical  skill ;  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  2Gth  of  June,  1830,  the  final  hour  of  his  existence  ar- 


4:16  HISTOEY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEOEGES. 

rived.  A  severe  fit  of  coughing  coming  on,  he  was  taken  by  his 
physician  into  his  arms ;  Avhen  the  king  suddenly  exclaimed : 
"  Oh  God,  I  am  dying  !  "  In  a  few  moments  afterward  he  ex- 
pired, in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  eleventh 
year  of  his  reign. 

The  royal  remains  lay  in  state  during  some  days,  after  which 
they  were  deposited  with  imposing  ceremonies  in  the  mausoleum 
built  by  George  III.,  in  which  already  reposed  the  bodies  of  that 
monarch  and  his  queen,  the  Princesses  Charlotte  and  Amelia,  the 
Dukes  of  Kent  and  York,  and  the  infant  princes  Octavius  and 
Alfred. 

Thus  passed  away  for  ever,  the  most  stately,  magnificent,  vo- 
luptuous, and  censurable  monarch  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  who 
has  occupied  the  English  throne.  The  character  of  George  IV. 
lay  upon  the  surface,  and  was  easily  discernible  to  the  most 
casual  observer.  His  intellectual  powers  were  good,  though  by 
no  means  remarkable.  He  was  well-informed,  sagacious,  and 
intelligent ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  possessed  all  the  stubborn- 
ness and  selfish  capriciousness  of  his  family.  He  was  regardless  of 
every  principle  or  duty  which  interfered  with  the  gratification  of 
his  passions.  He  was  exceedingly  sensual  in  his  nature  ;  he  had 
not  the  slightest  appreciation  of  female  virtue  ;  like  the  serpent 
in  Paradise,  he  seduced  all  who  attracted  his  desires,  fascinating 
them,  and  glittering  with  azure,  purple  and  gold ;  and  having 
accomplished  their  ruin,  he  turned  heartlessly  away  to  achieve 
other  and  equally  villanous  conquests.  He  paid  no  regard  to 
truth ;  and  had  he  not  been  restrained  by  the  adamantine  and 
immovable  barriers  of  the  British  constitution,  he  would  have 
carried  his  tyranny  to  an  unparalleled  extreme.  His  desertion 
of  "  Perdita,"  his  conduct  toward  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  his  cruelty 
to  Queen  Caroline,  his  perfidy  toward  the  numerous  undis- 
tinguished victims  of  his  amorous  passions,  all  attest  that  his 
heart  was  one  of  rare  rottenness  and  corruption.  He  was  an  ad- 
mirer of  the  fine  arts ;  he  himself  performed  with  some  skill 
upon  several  musical  instruments ;  and  he  possessed  very  con- 


LIFE  AND   KEIGN   OF   GEOKGE  THE   FOURTH.  417 

siderable  appreciation  of  the  productions  of  genius  in  its  varied 
departments  of  endeavor.  Whatever  was  noble  and  brilliant  in 
his  administration,  "was  due  to  the  superior  talents  and  patriot- 
ism of  his  ministers  ;  whatever  was  pernicious  and  bad,  was  as 
clearly  attributable  to  his  own  personal  defects  and  vices. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Surrey  of  Distinguished  Personages  during  the  Eeign  of  George  IV. — Mr.  Canuing — 
Mr.  Brougliam — Details  of  their  Lives  and  Labors — Estimate  of  their  Talents — Wil- 
liam Wilberforce — Charles  Earl  Grey — Eminent  Men  of  Letters — Sir  Walter 
Scott — Lord  Byron  —  Thomas  Campbell — Thomas  Moore— Metaphysicians— The 
School  of  Modern  British  Essayists — Her  Uistorians— Ai'tists — Tragedians  and 
Preachers  of  the  era  of  George  IV. — Conclusion. 

The  era  of  George  IV.  both  when  regent  and  when  king,  was 
prolific  of  great  men  in  every  department  of  intellectual  excel- 
lence. Commencing  with  that  class  of  persons  whose  talents 
and  position  are  confessedly  the  most  influential  and  important 
in  the  empire — the  statesmen  who  wielded  the  destinies  of  Eng- 
land, the  first  who  attracts  our  attention  is  Mr.  Canning. 

George  Canning  was  horn  in  London  in  1770.  His  father 
was  a  man  of  aristocratic  connections,  belonging  to  the  Irish 
gentry ;  but  having  offended  his  family  by  a  disgraceful  amour, 
he  was  discarded  and  cut  off  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a 
year.  In  1757  he  came  to  London,  and  commenced  the  study 
of  the  law  ;  which  however  he  soon  relinquished  for  the  purpose 
of  entering  into  the  more  attractive  pursuits  of  literature  and 
politics.  At  the  period  of  the  birth  of  his  celebrated  son,  he  was 
overwhelmed  by  pecuniary  embarrassments,  which  continued  to 
increase  until  his  death.  This  event  occurred  when  the  younger 
Canning  was  but  twelve  months  old.  After  this  event  the  small 
sum  which  the  deceased  had  still  received  from  his  relatives  was 
withdrawn ;  and  Mrs.  Canning  was  reduced  to  the  utmost  dis- 
tress. To  avert  impending  starvation  for  herself  and  her  child, 
she  made  her  appearance  on  the  stage  in  1773.  She  seems  to 
have  been  a  woman  of  considerable  talent  and  of  remarkable 


LIFE  AND   EEIGN   OF   GEOKGE   THE   FOUETII.  419 

beauty  ;  although  the  latter  was  hei*  chief  qualification  for  the 
dramatic  profession.  She  was  but  partially  successful,  and  soon 
followed  the  fate  which  generally  awaits  beautiful,  but  not  very 
brilliant  actresses — she  was  married  to  a  profligate  player.  This 
person  was  named  Reddish.  It  has  been,  however,  asserted  that 
no  marriage  ceremony  took  place  between  the  parties,  and  that  their 
connection  was  merely  a  liaison  ;  nor  was  any  proof  ever  pre- 
sented, or  known  to  exist,  to  establish  the  contrary  statement. 
Reddish,  who  was  a  drunkard,  soon  became  a  lunatic,  and  after- 
ward died  in  a  madhouse.  Mrs.  Canning  subsequently  married 
again.  Her  last  husband,  after  failing  in  business  and  breaking 
doAvn  on  the  stage,  also  died,  leaving  his  widow  and  several  chil- 
dren to  the  usual  vicissitudes  of  poverty  and  distress.  She  con- 
tinued to  buffet  these  calamities  as  best  she  ctjuld,  until  the  rising 
fortunes  of  her  talented  son  surrounded  her  with  the  means  of 
comfort,  and  even  of  luxury. 

The  very  unfavorable  and  singular  circumstances  which  thus 
surrounded  the  youth  of  Canning,  would  have  inevitably  conducted 
him  to  ruin  instead  of  the  premiership,  had  he  not  been  rescued 
by  a  fortunate  accident.  The  beauty  and  sprightliness  of  the 
lad,  who  was  employed  in  carrying  the  theatrical  wardrobe  of 
Reddish  and  his  mother  to  and  from  the  theatre,  attracted  the 
benevolent  regard  of  an  old  actor  named  Moody,  who  determined 
to  interfere  in  his  behalf.  He  went  to  Canning's  paternal  uncle, 
a  rich  merchant  of  London,  the  father  of  Sir  Stratford  Canning, 
and  so  forcibly  represented  the  case  to  him,  that  he  prevailed 
upon  him  to  send  the  boy  to  school.  The  uncle  first  placed  him 
under  Mr.  Richards  at  Winchester.  Thence  he  sent  his  inoiege. 
to  Eton.  At  this  noble  institution,  the  brilliant  talents  of  young 
Canning  soon  gained  him,  child  as  he  was,  a  high  reputation. 
In  his  fifteenth  year  he  became  the  senior  scholar.  Soon  after- 
ward he  projected  a  periodical  entitled  the  "  INIicrocosm,"  in  the 
pages  of  which  he  exhibited  his  superior  talents  both  for  poetical 
and  prose  composition.  In  1787  he  went  to  Oxford,  carrying 
with  him  thither  a  brilliant  reputation.  In  the  followmg  year 
his  generous  uncle  died,  and  Canning  was  compelled  to  leave  the 


420  HISTOET   OF   THE  FOUR   GEOKGES. 

university  without  a  degree.  He  then  entered  himself  at  Lin- 
coln's Inn  as  a  student  of  law ;  but  soon  his  acquaintance  with 
Sheridan,  Burke,  and  other  distinguished  men  of  genius  with 
whom  he  became  familiar,  induced  him  to  abandon  his  legal 
studies,  and  devote  himself  to  political  life.  By  the  assistance  of 
Mr.  Pitt  he  succeeded  in  being  elected  to  Parliament  in  1793, 
as  a  member  for  NeAvport,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight ;  and  thenceforth 
he  commenced  that  career  of  political  distinction  which  has  few 
parallels  in  British  history. 

Canning's  first  speech  was  made  in  support  of  the  subsidy 
which  the  ministers  had  granted  to  the  King  of  Sardinia.  It  was, 
for  so  young  a  man,  a  powerful  effort ;  and  it  at  once  established 
his  reputation  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  promising  members 
of  the  House.  He  was  now  pitted  against  Fox,  and  the  great 
leaders  of  the  opposition ;  and  he  treated  them  from  the  start  of 
his  career  with  a  facile  and  masterly  power  which  clearly  indi- 
cated his  own  consciousness  of  equal  ability.  The  defence  of  the 
ministerial  measures  was  now  intrusted  in  a  great  measure  to 
Canning,  and  he  was  regarded  as  the  ablest  ally  on  whom  Pitt 
could  depend.  As  a  reward  for  his  services  he  was  appointed 
Under  Secretary  of  State  in  1795.  In  1801,  when  Mr.  Pitt  re- 
signed, he  followed  his  fortunes ;  and  taking  his  seat  on  the 
benches  of  the  Opposition,  he  assailed  the  Addington  ministry 
with  a  sarcastic  and  ferocious  power,  which  had  never  been  wit- 
nessed in  the  British-  Parliament ;  and  exhibited  his  versatility 
of  talent  in  no  very  pleasing  or  amiable  light. 

When  Mr.  Pitt  returned  to  office  in  1804,  Mr.  Cannins  awain 
accompanied  him  as  Treasurer  of  the  Navy.  In  this  position  he 
was  reconciled  to  Mr.  Addington,  who  had  been  created  Lord 
Sidmouth,  and  co-operated  with  him  as  President  of  the  Council. 
When  Mr.  Pitt  put  forth  all  his  pi'odigious  powers  to  avert  the 
impeachment  of  Lord  Melville,  Mr,  Canning  gave  him  his  utmost 
assistance.  Their  united  efforts  were  unavailing,  and  the  discom- 
fited premier  hid  his  mortification  and  shame  in  the  grave.  After 
the  death  of  Mr  Pitt,  Mr.  Canning  began  to  act  with  more  inde- 
pendence of  purpose  and  character  than  he  had  previously  ex- 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN   OF   GEOEGE  THE  FOURTH.  421 

hibited.  Under  the  Portland  ministry  he  held  the  office  of 
Foreign  Secretary,  In  1809  he  retired  in  consequence  of  his 
duel  with  Lord  Castlereagh.  In  1814  he  accepted  the  embassy 
to  Lisbon ;  in  1816  he  became  President  of  the  Board  of  Con- 
trol ;  in  1822  he  was  appointed  Governor-General  of  India ;  in 
1827  he  reached  the  dizzy  eminence  which  crowns  the  vaulting 
ambition  of  British  statesmen,  and  became  prime  minister.  Four 
months  afterward,  a  sudden  attack  of  illness,  produced  by  acci- ' 
dental  causes,  terminated  prematurely  the  earthly  career  of  this 
brilliant  and  powerful  intellect. 

Mr.  Canning  belonged  to  the  party  kno'WTi  by  the  epithet  of 
liberal  Tories,  and  as  one  of  these  he  was  called  upon  to  oppose 
many  measures  which  were  regarded  by  wise  and  good  men  as 
desirable  in  themselves,  and  as  being  adapted  to  promote  the 
welflire  of  the  British  Empire.  The  chief  measure  of  reform 
which  he  advocated  was  that  of  Catholic  Emancipation,  but  his 
endeavors  led  to  no  important  results,  inasmuch  as  the  bill  which 
he  introduced  on  the  subject,  and  which  was  ably  supported  by 
Grattan  and  Plunkett,  was  shorn  of  its  most  valuable  clauses 
before  it  came  to  a  final  vote,  and  w\as  consequently  abandoned 
by  its  author.  When  the  movements  of  the  Eadicals  in  1817 
and  1819  became  so  "sdolent  as  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts 
of  the  landed  gentry  throughout  the  realm,  Mr.  Canning  placed 
himself  in  the  van  of  the  fierce  conflict,  assailed  their  principles 
and  purposes  with  intense  severity  and  scathing  power,  and  was 
mainly  instrumental  in  resisting  the  advancing  tide  of  social  and 
political  reform.  The  suicide  of  Lord  Castlereagh  prevented  his 
proceeding  to  India  as  Governor-General,  and  restored  him  to 
the  domestic  service  of  his  country.  As  premier,  his  measures 
were  inefficient  and  feeble ;  but  the  fault  of  his  failure  in  this 
high  place  was  not  attributable  to  any  defect  of  his  own,  but  to 
the  peculiarly  unfavorable  combination  of  adverse  circumstances 
by  which  he  was  surrounded.  Had  his  life  been  prolonged,  it 
is  probable  that  he  would  have  amply  realized  the  brilliant  ex- 
pectations which  had  been  entertained  respecting  him. 

As  an  orator,  Mr.  Camiing  had  few  equals  in  the  British 


4:22       msTOEY  OF  the  foue  geoeges. 

Parliament.  He  was  a  match,  even  when  quite  young,  for  Mr. 
Fox  ;  and  when  afterward,  at  the  death  of  Pitt,  a  ministry  nick- 
named "  All  the  Talents  "  was  formed,  composed  of  leading  men 
from  the  three  parties,  of  whom  Mr.  Fox,  Lord  Grenville,  and 
Lord  Sidmouth  were  the  chiefs,  Mr.  Canning's  attacks  on  them 
were  so  formidable  and  overwhelming  that  they  hastened  the 
death  of  Fox,  and  considerably  shortened  the  career  of  that  em- 
>  inent  statesman.  His  eloquence  was  masterly  in  its  character 
and  effect.  No  British  orator  of  his  time  equalled  him  in  his 
power  to  satisfy  his  own  adherents,  to  puzzle  and  confound  his 
opponents,  to  persuade  and  charm  the  indifferent.  His  speeches 
disj^layed  comprehensive  logic,  great  critical  acumen,  superior 
rhetorical  art  in  marshalling  his  arguments  and  retorts,  so  as  to 
produce  the  greatest  impression ;  while  vivid  and  striking  im- 
ages, clear  and  forcible  illustrations  were  introduced  into  every 
discussion.  His  style  was  habitually  and  uniformly  elegant ; 
and  though  his  orations  were  always  extemporaneous,  so  perfect 
and  consummate  was  his  forensic  skill  that  each  effort  displayed 
the  same  freedom  from  all  blemish,  as  if  it  had  been  carefully  elab- 
orated in  the  closet.  Sometimes,  indeed,  he  seemed  to  forget  the 
maxim,  that  ars  est  celare  artem,  and  his  fastidious  elegance  was 
rendered  purposely  visible.  His  excessive  polish  of  style  and 
manner  was  not  unfrequently  overdone.  This  peculiarity  re- 
sulted from  his  natural  refinement  of  mind,  and  from  his  sedu- 
lous literary  culture.  In  this  respect  he  resembled  Burke ;  and 
like  him  he  had  mastered  not  only  all  the  departments  of  belle 
lettre  literature,  but  he  had  also  probed  to  the  bottom  the  intri- 
cacies of  philosophical  and  metaphysical  science.  His  leading 
arguments  often  contained  the  enunciation  of  profound  general 
principles,  whose  invention  and  utterance  clearly  proved  the 
presence  of  an  original  and  comprehensive  mind.  He  possessed 
a  ready  and  retentive  memory,  so  that  all  his  intellectual  acqui- 
sitions were  at  his  command  in  the  most  sudden  and  pressing 
emergencies.  His  sarcasm  was  scathing  and  destructive ;  and 
some  of  the  forensic  combats  in  which  he  took  a  prominent  share 
were  terrible.     His  wit  resembled  that  of  Sheridan ;  his  learning 


LIFE   AKD   EEIGN   OF   GEOEGE   THE   FOURTH.  423 

that  of  Huskisson ;  his  logic  that  of  Fox  ;  his  dcdamatiou  that 
of  Pitt ;  his  imagination  that  of  Burke ;  and  his  invective  that 
of  Brougham.  He  was  the  just  pride  and  glory  of  the  liberal 
Tory  party ;  and  had  his  career  not  been  prematurely  termin- 
ated by  death,  the  ragged  and  penniless  child  of  an  unfortunate 
actress,  who,  in  his  boyhood,  had  timidly  skulked  behind  the 
scenes  of  a  provincial  theatre  uncertain  of  the  morrow's  food  and 
shelter,  would  in  all  respects  have  achieved  as  brilliant  a  fame, 
and  wielded  as  absolute  a  power,  as  William  Pitt  himself. 

The  only  worthy  rival  to  Mr.  Canning  in  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, during  the  latter  portion  of  his  career,  was  Mr.  Brougham. 
This  extraordinary  man,  whose  intellectual  qualities  were  so  pe- 
culiar and  so  varied  as  to  render  him  a  complete  anomaly  in  the 
history  of  British  statesmen,  was  born  in  Edinburgh  in  1779, 
and  was  related  to  the  family  of  Dr.  Robertson  the  historian. 
He  was  educated  in  his  native  city,  whence  after  completing  his 
academical  career  with  great  distinction,  he  removed  to  London, 
and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.  Already  at  an  early  age 
he  had  contributed  many  articles  to  the  Edinburgh  Review,  then 
recently  established,  which  exhibited  superior  talent ;  and  ■s\hich 
held  an  honorable  place  among  the  most  elaborate  compositions 
of  such  men  as  Jeffrey,  Sidney  Smith,  Mackintosh,  Playfair,  and 
Malthus. 

Having  been  admitted  to  the  English  bar,  Brougham  soon 
distinguished  himself  as  an  advocate  and  nisi  2}rius  pleader.  His 
genius  was  bold,  self-confident  and  acute ;  these  being  the  very 
qualities  most  essential  to  the  attainment  of  success  in  the  pro- 
fession of  a  popular  advocate.  But  his  ambition  was  by  no 
means  confined  to  one,  or  even  to  several  departments  of  mental 
superiority.  In  1810  he  was  elected  a  member  of  Parliament ; 
and  in  that  year  his  name  first  appeared  in  the  debates  of  the 
British  Legislature.  In  this  new  sphere,  his  great  abilities  en- 
abled him  at  once  to  assume  a  distinguished  rank.  Very  soon, 
Mr.  Canning,  then  the  leading  orator  in  the  house,  discovered 
that  Brougham  was  a  complete  and  equal  match  for  him.  All 
the  elder  forensic  giants  had  passed  away.     Fox,  Burke,  Pitt, 


424  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOTJE  GE0EGE8. 

and  even  Sheridan  had  disappeared  from  the  brilliant  stage  upon 
■which  they  had  played  so  magnificent  a  part.  The  combat  now 
lay  between  Canning  and  Brougham  alone  ;  and  rarely  had  two 
more  gifted  and  consummate  intellectual  gladiators  entered  the 
arena.  In  the  senate,  the  eloquence  of  Brougham  obtained  a 
more  suitable  and  enlarged  field  of  operation  than  at  the  bar. 
Compared  with  Canning,  his  mind  was  more  athletic  and  power- 
ful, less  polished  and  beautiful.  He  was  not  equally  accom- 
plished with  the  elegance  and  ornaments  of  eloquence.  But  he 
possessed  a  ruder  and  more  gigantic  intellect ;  he  was  furnished 
with  more  ample  intellectual  resources ;  and  indeed  there  was 
scarcely  any  branch  of  knowledge  from  the  history  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  great  revolution,  down  to  the  scientific  analysis  of  a 
ray  of  light,  of  which  he  was  not  master.  His  delivery  was  en- 
ergetic, rapid,  and  impressive  ;  to  which  his  personal  appearance 
added  its  favorable  accessories.  His  genius  was  essentially  con- 
stituted and  armed  for  attack  ;  his  powers  of  invective,  sarcasm, 
and  obliterative  logic  were  overwhelming.  Among  other  pe- 
culiarities which  he  exhibited,  he  was  capable  of  uttering  original 
aphorisms,  which  were  pregnant  with  such  suggestive  and  sen- 
tentious truths,  that  they  at  once  flew  over  the  land,  crossed 
oceans  and  seas,  and  became  household  and  familiar  maxims 
wherever  the  English  language  was  known.  An  illustration  of 
this  may  be  found  in  his  phrase  :  "  the  schoolmaster  is  abroad," 
which  was  uttered  by  him  in  1828,  in  a  speech  in  reference  to 
the  appointment  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  as  prime  minister, 
and  as  successor  to  Mr.  Canning.  Said  he  :  "  Field  Marshal  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  may  take  the  army — he  may  take  the  navy 
— he  may  take  the  great  seal — he  may  take  the  mitre.  I  make 
him  a  present  of  them  all.  Let  him  come  on  with  his  whole 
force  sword  in  hand  against  the  constitution ;  and  the  English 
people  will  not  only  beat  him  back,  but  laugh  at  his  assaults. 
In  other  times  the  country  may  have  heard  with  dismay  that  the 
soldier  was  abroad.  It  will  not  be  so  now.  Let  the  soldier  be 
abroad  if  he  will ;  he  can  do  nothing  in  this  age.  There  is 
another  personage  abroad — a  personage  less   imposing,  in  the 


LIFE   AND   KEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE   FOUKTH.  425 

eyes  of  some  perhaps  insignificant.  The  Schoolmaster  is  abroad; 
and  I  trust  to  him,  armed  with  his  primer,  against  the  soldier  in 
full  military  array."  Other  instances  of  the  utterance  of  orac- 
ular thoughts  are  found  in  his  performances  in  the  senate,  which 
added  greatly  to  the  popular  effect  which  they  produced.  Among 
his  parliamentary  orations,  that  delivered  in  1817  on  the  state 
of  the  nation  was  preeminent  for  its  lucid  statements,  its  meth- 
odical order,  its  varied  knowledge,  its  masculine  power,  its  orig- 
inality, beauty  and  force.  His  speech  on  law-reform  in  1828 
was  another  instance  of  similar  nature ;  and  though  its  great 
length  rendered  six  hours  necessary  for  its  delivery,  the  assembly 
to  which  it  was  uttered  exhibited  no  signs  of  tedium  or  fatigue. 

Mr.  Brougham  was  most  successful  as  an  orator,  when  he  was 
called  upon  to  attack  an  adverse  party,  to  break  opposing  ranks, 
or  to  carry  a  stronghold  by  storm.  His  dialectical  skill,  his 
vigorous  and  adroit  logic,  his  facility  in  exposing  a  flillacy,  or 
crushing  a  weak  pretence,  his  galling  irony,  his  flaying  sarcasm, 
his  varied  learning,  his  rushing  resistless  declamation,  his  bold- 
ness and  self  confidence,  and  his  ability  to  wi-est  a  weapon  from 
the  hands  of  an  adversary,  and  then  either  break  it  over  his 
own  head,  or  turn  it  ftitally  against  his  own  bosom — all  these 
rare  powers  came  into  full  play  when  their  possessor  was  em- 
ployed as  an  assailant.  Canning  was  the  only  British  statesman 
who  could  withstand  Brougham  under  such  circumstances,  and 
some  of  the  encounters  which  took  place  between  them  were 
imposing  exhibitions  of  the  fearful  formidableness  of  two  great 
minds,  supremely  endowed  and  accomplished,  marshalling  their 
resources  in  hostile  array  against  each  other,  in  conflicts  in  which 
even  a  defeat  would  not  have  been  inglorious  to  either. 

From  the  year  1810  till  1830  Brougham  was  constantly  en- 
gaged in  advocating  large  and  fundamental  principles  of  liberty, 
either  in  the  senate  or  in  the  popular  assemblage.  He  contended 
for  the  freedom  of  the  press  against  the  arbitrary  purposes  of 
Ellenborough,  and  the  keen  legal  acumen  of  Gibbs.  He  assailed 
the  rampant  and  insolent  Toryism  whicli,  rendered  arrogant  by 
the  military  triumphs  of  that  party  on  the  continent,  and  by  the 


426  HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

downfall  of  Napoleon  ;  which,  supported  by  the  courage  of  Cas- 
tlercagh,  by  the  eloquence  of  Canning,  by  the  official  skill  of 
Huskisson,  and  by  the  unscrupulous  knavery  of  Sidmouth, 
seemed  determined  to  arrogate  to  itself  all  the  influence  and  the 
prerogatives  of  power  in  the  empire ;  that  great  party  Brougham 
assaulted  with  fearless  courage,  and  did  much  to  meliorate  the 
ultra-tendency  of  their  measures.  After  this  service  he  plunged 
boldly  into  the  gap  which  yawned  between  the  unfortunate 
Queen  Caroline  and  her  husband,  and  defended  her  heroically 
against  the  malignant  and  brutal  tyranny  of  George  IV.  Some 
of  his  speeches  for  the  queen  were  masterpieces  of  reasoning 
and  dialectics.  The  rank  and  sex  of  his  client,  her  persecutions 
and  misfortunes,  the  exalted  position  of  the  assailing  party, 
the  intense  interest  felt  by  the  nation  in  the  result,  the  odious- 
ness  of  the  oppression  which  his  client  had  endured,  and  the 
sympathy  which  was  universally  felt  in  her  behalf;  all  these 
circumstances  called  forth  his  utmost  powers.  He  proved  him- 
self worthy  of  the  memorable  occasion ;  and  no  sudden  emer- 
gency, no  unexpected  narrowing  by  the  judges  of  the  grounds 
allowed  to  the  defense,  no  hostile  array  of  learning,  talent  and 
influence,  sufficed  for  a  moment  to  daunt  or  confound  him. 
When,  however,  in  1830,  he  accepted  the  Lord  Chancellorship, 
he  took  the  most  unfortunate  step  of  his  life.  On  this  occasion 
he  was  first  offered  the  Attorney-Generalship  ;  but  this  post  he 
indignantly  spurned.  He  demanded  something  higher  ;  and  the 
Chancellorship  was  at  last  tendered  him  by  Lord  Grey,  the  new 
Whig  premier.  He  remained  in  this  office  till  1835 ;  and  during 
all  this  period  he  occupied  a  false  and  dishonorable  position. 
He  who  had  been  the  most  able  and  zealous  advocate  of  progress 
and  reform,  suddenly  assumed  the  attitude,  and  uttered  the  sen- 
timents, of  a  conservative  Tory.  He  condemned  the  measures 
of  his  former  associates  as  revolutionary  and  disorganizing. 
He  eulogized  the  constitutional  spirit  and  the  legislative  wisdom 
of  the  House  of  Lords ;  and  spoke  of  that  inert  and  pernicious 
body,  as  the  great  and  salutary  corrective  of  the  evils  produced 
by  the  radical  legislation  of  the  Commons.     The  inevitable  con- 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOUETII.  427 

sequences  of  such  perfidy  and  inconsistency  was,  that  Lord 
Brougham  fell  from  his  exalted  place  in  the  estimation  of  the 
nation ;  nor  did  his  success  as  a  judge  compensate  him  for  his 
unpopularity  as  a  trimmer.  His  legal  learning  was  scarcely 
suflicient  for  the  post.  He  had  never  been  a  mere  leguleius  in 
the  technical  meaning  of  that  term  ;  and  his  judgments  as  Chan- 
cellor never  ranked  with  those  of  Eldon,  Camden,  or  Hardwicke. 
During  the  period  of  Lord  Grey's  ministry,  Lord  Brougham  de- 
fended the  most  unjustifiable  acts  of  the  premier.  After  the  fall 
of  that  minister  in  1835,  Lord  Brougham  remained  during  some 
years  in  retirement.  His  moral  influence  in  the  nation  was  lost ; 
and  it  was  supposed  to  have  been  irretrievably  forfeited.  In 
the  progress  of  time,  however,  he  emerged,  and  gradually  suc- 
ceeded in  regaining  the  popularity  which  he  had  alienated,  by 
the  advocacy  of  wise  measures,  and  by  his  bold  and  vigorous 
defense  of  j^rinciples  which  were  consistent  with  those  in  the 
support  of  which  he  had  expended  the  masterly  energies  of  his 
earlier  manhood. 

But  Lord  Brougham's  sole  distinction  was  not  as  a  lawyerj 
as  an  advocate,  as  a  judge,  or  as  a  parliamentary  orator.  He 
was  the  most  versatile  of  men.  His  great  abilities  shone  as  a 
historical  and  philosophical  writer  with  equal  splendor.  His 
Discourse  on  Natural  Theology  deserves  to  be  called  the  tenth 
Bridgewater  ti'eatise,  and  is  the  rival  of  the  great  work  of  Paley 
on  that  subject.  His  treatise  on  the  Objects  and  Pleasures  of 
Science  is  another  literary  masterpiece.  His  Historical  Sketches 
of  Statesmen  in  the  time  of  George  III.,  as  Avell  as  of  Men  of 
Science  and  Letters,  exhibit  varied  learning,  and  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  almost  every  department  of  knowledge.  They 
are  written  with  a  clear  and  vigorous  style,  though  they  exhibit 
a  want  of  polish,  and  of  proper  attention  to  the  labor  lima;. 
His  scientific  researches  were  even  carried  so  far,  that,  amid  the 
anxious  turmoil  of  professional  life,  and  the  nervous  agitation  of 
the  senate,  he  could  engage  in  investigations  in  reference  to  the 
polarization  of  light,  and  furnish  an  elaborate  discussion  on  that 
or  kindred  subjects,  to  the  Royal  Philosophical  Society,  which  the 


428  HISTORY   OF  THE  FOUK   GEOEGES. 

first  savans  of  the  age  regarded  as  worthy  of  their  attention. 
Add  to  all  these  attainments,  a  competent  knowledge  of  classical 
literature,  both  of  Greece  and  Rome,  an  acquaintance  with  the 
principal  languages  of  modern  Europe,  a  familiarity  with  polit- 
ical, moral,  and  intellectual  philosophy,  rare  conversational 
powers,  and  a  perfect  insight  into  human  nature  in  all  its  phases 
and  positions,  and  the  reader  will  then  be  able  to  form  an  accu- 
rate idea  of  the  vast  and  multiform  powers  with  which  Lord 
Brougham  was  gifted ;  and  he  will  cease  to  wonder  at  the  exalted 
position  which  he  attained  in  the  history  and  the  evolutions  of 
the  age  in  which  he  lived. 

Among  the  statesmen  who  flourished  in  the  era  of  George 
IV.,  William  Wilberforce  stood  pre-eminent  for  a  rare  combina- 
tion of  moral  worth,  benevolent  influence,  and  intellectual  power. 
He  was  born  at  Hull,  and  descended  from  an  ancient  and  opu- 
lent family.  His  early  mental  training  was  combined  with  rig- 
orous religious  instruction;  and  this  circumstance  served  to 
impart  a  peculiar  tinge  to  his  whole  subsequent  career.  He  was 
educated  at  Cambridge,  where  he  formed  a  close  and-  confidential 
intimacy  with  William  Pitt.  He  was  noted  for  his  piety  not 
only  in  his  boyhood,  but  during  his  youth,  manhood,  and  riper 
age.  Accident  threw  him  into  the  society  of  Thomas  Clarkson, 
by  whom  his  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  subject  of  Afri- 
can slavery — a  theme  which  became  the  chief  and  all-absorbing 
interest  of  his  subsequent  existence. 

In  1783  he  was  elected  to  Parliament  from  his  native  city. 
It  was  his  determination  from  the  moment  he  entered  the  Legis- 
lature of  his  country,  to  devote  all  his  energies  to  the  suppres- 
sion of  Negro  slavery  in  every  form,  and  in  every  clime  in  which 
the  power  or  the  influence  of  Britain  extended.  He  gathered 
around  him  a  small  party  of  philanthropists  possessing  sympa- 
thies kindred  to  his  own.  At  that  period  the  project  of  abolishing 
the  African  slave-trade  was  regarded  with  hostility  by  all  classes 
of  the  nation.  The  monarch,  George  III.,  condemned  it,  chiefly 
for  the  sagacious  reason,  which  suited  his  calibre  of  intellect, 
that  it  was  an  innovation.     Other  classes  of  the  people  resisted 


LITE  AI^D  EEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  THE  FOURTH.  429 

it  because  it  conflicted  cither  with  their  prejudices,  their  interests, 
or  their  antipathies.  Wilberforce  remained  at  first  alone,  and 
yet  undaunted.  He  introduced  his  first  motion  bearing  on  the 
subject  into  Parliament  in  1789.  He  succeeded  in  having  a 
commission  appointed  to  take  testimony,  and  report  the  result 
of  their  labors  to  the  House.  Several  years  were  worn  away  by 
the  necessary  and  the  unnecessary  delays  which  took  place  in 
the  performance  of  this  task.  Nevertheless  he  persevered  until 
in  1794,  after  prodigious  exertions,  he  obtained  the  passage  of  a 
bill  in  the  Commons,  requiring  immediate  abolition  of  the  Afri- 
can slave-trade.  The  Guinea  and  Congo  merchants,  whose  vast 
gains  from  human  blood  would  have  been  terminated  had  Mr. 
Wilberforce  been  triumphant  in  the  House  of  Peers,  exerted 
every  nerve,  and  eventually  succeeded  in  crushing  the  bill  in  that 
enlightened  and  philanthropic  assembly.  Nevertheless  he  re- 
newed his  motion  in  1795,  with  no  better  result.  Ten  successive 
efforts  did  this  philanthropic  statesman  make  in  ten  successive 
years,  to  gain  the  support  of  both  Houses  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, and  in  all  of  these  he  failed.  He  then  attempted  other 
tactics.  He  proposed  the  future  abolition  of  the  slave-trade  after 
the  termination  of  five  years.  In  various  forms  the  great  meas- 
ure was  suggested  by  its  author  in  Parliament,  meeting  uniformly 
and  ultimately  with  defeat  until  1807;  when  at  last,  after  twenty 
years  of  unremitting  toil  and  anxiety,  he  accomplished  the  great 
purpose  of  his  life  in  the  abolition  of  the  African  slave-trade 
throughout  the  British  Empire. 

This  glorious  result  was  accomplished  through  the  endeavors 
of  a  man  who  stands  in  the  foremost  rank  of  the  British  states 
men  of  his  era  without  possessing  any  of  those  qualities  which 
usually  characterize  that  class  of  men.  He  was  totally  destitute 
of  their  craft,  of  their  versatility,  of  their  oratorical  ability,  of 
their  accurate  statistical  information,  and  their  familiarity  with  the 
details  and  the  data  of  political  economy.  His  speeches  were  not 
enriched  by  valuable  historical  knowledge  ;  his  style  was  paren- 
thetical and  obscure ;  he  possessed  none  of  the  graces  of  elocu- 
tion, none  of  the  splendors  of  forensic  oratory.     His  mamier  of 


430  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUK  GEORGES. 

speaking  was  chiefly  of  the  colloquial  kind ;  yet  by  this  qual- 
ity he  succeeded  in  pleasing,  interesting,  and  charming  his  audi- 
tors, while  other  men  astonished,  overwhelmed,  and  enraptured 
them.  But  the  result  was  often  equally  felicitous  and  favorable. 
The  colloquial  style  of  Mr.  Wilberforce  was  pleasing  in  itself, 
and  it  was  new  and  rare.  But  the  chief  motive  power  which  he 
wielded,  was  the  vast  weight  of  his  moral  character.  This  qual- 
ity, so  rare  among  statesmen,  exerted  a  prodigious  influence  in 
favor  of  the  measures  which  he  advocated.  There  w"as  a  simple 
majesty  in  the  honesty  and  benevolence  of  his  purposes,  in  the 
purity  and  consistency  of  his  principles,  in  the  virtue  and  moral- 
ity of  his  life.  So  pre-eminent  was  this  feature  in  his  character 
and  position,  that  one  of  the  most  startling  practical  jokes  which 
Sheridan — the  antipode  of  Wilberforce  in  every  imaginable  re- 
spect— ever  perpetrated,  had  reference  to  him.  One  night  a 
watchman  of  London  found  an  intoxicated  man  lying  in  the  gut- 
ter. He  approached  him  and  demanded  his  name.  "  I  am  Mr. 
Wilbei force,"  rei^lied  Sheridan,  and  rolled  over  again  in  the 
mire.  The  influence  of  this  excellent  man  was  greatly  increased 
by  the  fact  that  he  was  no  partisan.  Though  personally  attached 
to  Mr.  Pitt,  he  dissented  from  him  on  many  important  questions 
of  national  policy.  His  career  was  a  long,  and  eventually  an 
honored  one.  He  represented  the  county  of  York  in  Parliament 
during  forty  years.  He  advocated  the  great  measure  of  Catholic 
Emanci23ation  and  assisted  in  its  consummation.  His  benevo- 
lent labors  were  not  confined  to  those  of  political  life.  His 
"  Practical  View  of  Christianity  "  is  a  work  of  deep  thought  and 
evangelical  piety  ;  and  has  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  jiro- 
moting  the  cause  of  morality  and  religion.  He  died  at  an  ad- 
vanced age  in  1833.  He  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
and  his  funeral  train  was  graced  by  the  presence  of  thirty  peers, 
a  hundred  and  thirty  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
a  vast  concourse  of  citizens. 

Charles,  Earl  Grey,  held  no  inconsiderable  or  secondary  place 
among  the  statesmen  of  the  era  of  George  IV.  He  was  born  in 
1764,  and  entered  Parliament  in  1785.     He  at  once  joined  the 


LIFE  AND  EEIGN   OF  GEOKGE  THE  FOtJETH.  431 

Whig  party,  being  seduced  thereto,  as  it  has  been  confidently  as- 
serted, by  the  potent  though  virtuous  fascinations  of  the  beauti- 
ful Duchess  of  Devonshire.  At  first  he  took  no  part  in  the  de- 
bates of  Parliament.  lie  passed  three  years  in  forensic  silence. 
His  first  speech  exhibited  clear  evidence  of  his  superior  oratori- 
cal ability.  He  took  a  bold  stand  against  the  measures  of  Mr. 
Pitt,  and  soon  became  one  of  the  most  formidable  members  of 
the  Opposition,  which  was  headed  by  the  powerful  genius  of 
Charles  James  Fox.  Mr.  Grey  distinguished  himself  in  the 
memorable  trial  of  Warren  Hastings ;  and  amid  an  array  of 
varied  and  brilliant  talent  such  as  has  scarcely  ever  before  or 
since  been  enlisted  in  the  assault  or  the  defence  of  a  great  crim- 
inal, whose  successive  and  rival  displays  astonished,  delighted, 
and  ov^whelmed  the  most  cultivated  and  fastidious  audience 
which  has  convened  in  modern  times — amid  such  a  galaxy  of 
genius,  that  of  Mr.  Grey  held  a  prominent  place.  He  was  a 
man  of  chivalrous  honor ;  and  when  George  IV.,  yet  Prince  of 
Wales,  desired  him  to  contradict  in  an  equivocal  and  dishonor- 
able way,  the  statement  of  Mr.  Fox  in  Parliament,  that  the 
prince  was  married  to  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  he  spurned  the  base 
office,  and  thereby  forever  oflended  the  unprincipled  and  unscru- 
pulous prince. 

When  Mr.  Fox  became  prime  minister  in  1806,  Mr.  Grey 
took  the  office  of  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  and  the  title  of 
Lord  Howick.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Fox,  he  became  Foreign 
Secretary  and  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons.  Soon  after- 
ward, on  the  death  of  his  father,  he  was  called  to  the  Upper 
House  as  Earl  Grey,  and  became  the  leader  of  the  Opposition 
among  the  peers.  He  retained  this  position  during  eighteen 
years.  In  public  life  he  displayed  the  stern  severity  of  a  censor ; 
in  private,  he  was  a  model  of  rigorous  virtue,  propriety  and 
purity.  He  contributed  greatly  in  1820,  to  defeat  the  prosecu- 
tion against  the  queen,  not  that  he  defended  the  weaknesses  of 
the  lady,  so  much  as  that  he  abhorred  the  unfathomable  vices 
and  perfidy  of  her  husband.  At  length,  after  the  fall  of  the 
Wellington  ministry  in  1831,  he  became  prime  minister ;  and 


432  HISTOKT   OF  THE  FOUR   GEORGES. 

one  of  his  chief  measures  was  the  celebrated  Reform  Bill.  He 
retained  office  until  1834,  when,  at  the  age  of  seventy  he  resigned. 
He  reached  the  patriarchal  age  of  eighty-one,  and  then  expired 
full  of  years  and  honors.  Earl  Grey  was  a  man  of  high  talent, 
of  inflexible  virtue,  of  scrupulous  honor  ;  a  noble  specimen  of  an 
English  peer  and  statesman ;  whose  antipathies,  if  they  were 
strong  and  lasting,  were  generally  based  on  justice  and  reason  ; 
and  Avho  amply  deserved  the  high  position  which  he  held  during 
so  many  years,  in  the  estimation  of  his  friends,  of  his  country, 
and  of  the  civilized  world. 

From  the  eminent  statesmen  of  this  era,  we  turn  to  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  letters  who  adorned  it.  The  chief  of  these 
beyond  all  controversy  was  Sir  Walter  Scott.  This  prolific  and 
powerfid  writer  was  born  at  Edinburgh  in  1771.  He  was  edu- 
cated m  his  native  city,  and  in  178G  he  became  an  apprentice 
to  the  profession  of  an  attorney  in  the  office  of  his  father.  In 
1792  he  was  admitted  to  practise  as  an  advocate  at  the  Scottish 
bar  ;  but  the  dry  and  repulsive  drudgery  of  the  legal  profession 
had  few  charms  for  a  mind  so  genial  and  so  rich  as  his.  By  a 
natural  and  resistless  impulse  he  gradually  reverted  to  literary 
pursuits.  His  first  publication  was  a  translation  of  some  of  the 
wild  romantic  ballads  of  the  German  Burger,  which  had  capti- 
vated his  youthful  imagination.  As  yet  the  great  Magician  of  the 
North  remained  unconscious  of  the  prodigious  powers  with  which 
nature  had  gifted  him ;  and  his  literary  labors  were  for  some 
time  confined  to  the  elaboration  of  inferior  works.  At  length, 
in  1802  the  appearance  of  his  "Border  Minstrelsy"  indicated  the 
opening  of  a  purer  and  richer  vein  within  him.  Tliis  work  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  "  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel"  and  "Marmion,"  and  the 
"  Lady  of  the  Lake,"  the  chief  of  his  poetical  productions.  These 
labors  were  but  preparatory  to  those  greater  and  more  illustrious 
works  which  he  was  destined  to  achieve.  Having  accidentally 
discovered  an  unfinished  romance  among  the  old  lumber  of  a 
garret,  he  completed  it,  and  jjublished  it  anonymously  under  the 
title  of  "  Waverly."  Its  success  was  prodigious,  and  the  impres- 
sion produced  by  it  almost  without  a  parallel.     He  now  con- 


LIFE  AND  KEIGN  OF  GEOEGE  TUE  FOURTH.     433 

ceived  the  resolution  of  continuing  his  literary  labors,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  acquiring  literary  fame,  but  wealth,  in  order  that  he 
might  become  a  large  landowner.  Accordingly  he  produced  in 
rapid  succession  a  long  list  of  novels,  beginning  with  "  Guy  Man- 
nering,"  all  of  which,  being  published  anonymously  and  exhibiting 
great  power,  increased  the  curiosity  and  mystification  of  the 
public  to  an  intense  degree.  But  his  secret  soon  became  di- 
vulged ;  and  with  its  proclamation  his  fame  widely  extended. 
In  1820  he  was  created  a  baronet,  in  acknowledgment  of  his 
rare  literary  and  intellectual  pre-eminence.  Then  followed  a 
series  of  the  most  able  and  valuable  novels  which  enrich  the 
English  language  :  the  "  Bride  of  Lammermoor,"  the  "  Legend  of 
Montrose,"  and  especially  "Ivanhoe,"  taking  the  pre-eminence  for 
masterly  powers  of  diction,  of  imagery,  of  familiarity  with  the 
human  character,  of  acquaintance  with  antiquarian  lore,  and  of 
every  quality  which  characterizes  the  consummate  romancer.  At 
this  period  Sir  Walter  resided  at  his  stately  seat  of  Abbotsford. 
In  1826  by  the  failure  of  his  publishers,  the  Messrs.  Constable, 
he  became  involved  in  the  enormous  sum  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  pounds.  He  bore  calamities  so  great  as  this 
with  heroic  fortitude,  and  immediately  addressed  himself  to  the 
herculean  task  of  liquidating  his  obligations  by  the  labors  of  his 
pen.  During  the  five  succeeding  years  until  1831,  he  produced 
eight  or  ten  new  works  of  fiction,  beside  his  "  Life  of  Napoleon," 
"History  of  Scotland,"  the  "Tales  of  a  Grandfather,"  and  several 
other  elaborate  works.  By  this  means  fifty-four  thousand 
pounds  of  his  vast  indebtedness  were  liquidated ;  but  his  exer- 
tions proved  to  be  too  great  for  his  physical  strength.  He  be- 
came prematurely  old ;  and  in  1831  his  health  rapidly  and 
seriously  declined.  To  avert  or  postpone  impending  dissolu- 
tion, he  journeyed  to  Rome  and  Naples  ;  and  though  he  enjoyed 
the  usual  felicities  attendant  upon  foreign  travel,  he  returned  in 
July,  1832,  to  his  favorite  Abbotsford,  only  to  sink  rapidly  into 
the  grave.  He  expired  six  weeks  after  his  return.  The  genius 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  the  richest  of  all  those  British  writers 
who  have  labored  in  the  department  of  romance.  The  coinage 
19 


434  HISTORY  OF  THE   FOUK   GEOKGES. 

of  his  prolific  and  powerful  brain  are  masterpieces  in  that  diffi- 
cult department  of  literature,  which  will  retain  their  undisputed 
pre-eminence  as  long  as  the  language  in  which  they  are  written 
endures.  One  of  the  most  commendable  acts  of  the  reign  of 
George  IV.  was  the  comj)liment  which  he  paid  to  virtue  and 
genius  in  the  person  of  Sir  Walter,  by  creating  him  a  baronet  of 
the  United  Kingdom  in  1820,  as  a  testimony  of  his  personal 
favor,  and  his  aj^preciation  of  his  genius. 

Second  in  greatness  to  Walter  Scott  among  the  literary  men 
of  this  era  was  George  Gordon  Byron.  This  gifted  poet  was 
born  in  London  in  1788.  His  father  was  a  profligate  person, 
who,  shortly  after  his  birth,  abandoned  his  mother  and  himself, 
proceeded  to  Valenciemies  and  there  died.  The  youth  of  Byron 
was  spent  at  Aberdeen.  In  his  fourteenth  year  he  was  removed 
to  Harrow,  where  he  received  the  rudiments  of  academic  and 
classical  knowledge.  From  Harrow  he  proceeded  to  Cambridge. 
During  his  residence  there,  his  studies  were  desultory  in  the  ex- 
treme ;  and  in  1807  he  published  his  first  work  entitled  Hours  of 
Idleness.  This  production,  which  exhibited  in  exaggeration  all  the 
defects  with  few  of  the  merits  of  his  genius,  elicited  the  famous 
criticism  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  which  was  peimed  by  Mr. 
Brougham.  The  severity  of  this  criticism,  falsely  attributed  to 
Jeffrey,  excited  the  wrath  of  the  young  poet  to  frenzy,  and  he  wrote 
in  reply  his  "  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers,"  in  which  he 
hurled  defiance  ujion  the  heads  of  his  literary  foes  and  rivals.  In 
1809  he  entered  the  British  House  of  Peers,  but  made  no  figure  in 
the  discussions  which  took  place.  He  now  visited  the  Levant, 
Greece,  Syria,  and  Asia  Minor,  during  the  progress  of  which  jour- 
ney he  wrote  portions  of  his  greatest  and  best  work — "  Childe 
Harold."  He  returned  to  England  in  July,  1811.  He  imme- 
diately published  the  product  of  his  nomadic  labors ;  and  the  suc- 
cess of  the  work  was  immense.  As  he  himself  declared :  "  he 
awoke  one  morning  and  found  himself  famous."  This  was  the  pe- 
riod of  the  climax  of  his  popularity.  The  beauty  and  splendor  of 
that  production  were  fully  appreciated  by  the  public,  and  many 
editions  of  it  were  rapidly  sold.    The  "  Giaour,"  the  "  Bride  of 


LIFE   AND   EEIGN   OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  435 

Abydos,"  and  tlie  "  Corsair,"  successively  followed ;  and  so  great 
had  the  fame  of  the  writer  become  that  fourteen  thousand  copies 
of  the  last  were  sold  in  a  single  day. 

In  1815  this  brilliant  and  successful  author  was  united  by 
marriage  to  Miss  Milbanke ;  but  the  match  proved  to  be  an 
unhappy  one  almost  from  the  day  of  the  nuptials.  A  year  after- 
ward the  parties  permanently  separated.  The  chief  cause  of 
this  unfortunate  result  was  to  be  found  in  the  licentious  habits 
of  the  poet,  whose  excesses  were  beyond  all  endurance  on  the 
part  even  of  the  most  amiable  and  complacent  of  wives.  His 
domestic  troubles  and  ungoverned  dissipations  did  not  entirely 
prevent  him  from  producing  some  works  not  unworthy  of  his  gen- 
ius. "Lara,"  the  "  Siege  of  Corinth,"  and  "  Parisina  "  were  suc- 
cessively written  and  published.  Meanwhile  his  domestic  troubles 
and  disputes  became  more  annoying,  the  public  interested  them- 
selves provok'ingly  and  officiously  in  his  private  affairs,  they  de- 
cided, as  might  have  been  expected,  against  him,  and  the  most 
flattered  and  adulated  poet  of  modern  times  fell  suddenly  and 
fjitally  from  the  dizzy  eminence  of  his  popularity,  into  the  depths 
of  general  odium  and  contempt.  Driven  to  despair  and  frenzy 
by  this  experience  of  the  changeableness  and  injustice  of  popular 
praise,  the  poet  determined  to  abandon  his  detested  country  for 
ever.  He  passed  through  France  and  Switzerland  to  Italy.  At 
Venice  he  completed  the  third  and  fourth  cantos  of  "  Childe 
Harold,"  the  "  Prisoner  of  Chillon,"  «  Bcppo,"  "  Manfred,"  the 
"  Lament  of  Tasso,"  and  some  minor  poems.  Between  the 
years  1819  and  1822  he  produced,  while  living  at  Venice  in 
oriental  luxury,  his  cliief  dramatic  works,  including  "  Sardana- 
palus,"  "  Werner,"  the  "  Deformed  Transformed,"  and  "  Marino 
Faliero."  But  neither  his  literary  fomc  which  continued  to  in- 
crease from  year  to  year,  nor  his  licentious  indulgences  which 
were  curbed  by  no  restraints,  satiated  his  powerful  but  diseased 
mind  ;  and  he  hoped  for  relief  and  an  unfelt  happiness  in  plung- 
ing Avith  the  heroic  Greeks  into  the  surges  of  that  revolution 
which  was  then  raging  in  their  fair  and  classic  land.  He  arrived 
at  Missilonghi  in  January,  1824 ;  but  his  vital  powers  had  been 


436  HISTOET   OF   THE   FOUR   GEORGES. 

too  far  exhausted,  he  survived  only  a  few  months,  and  that  mag- 
nificent wreck  expired  in  the  succeeding  April,  in  the  thirty-sixth 
year  of  his  age.  No  man  in  English  history  ever  achieved  at  so 
early  a  period  of  life  so  brilliant  and  so  enduring  a  fame  ;  and 
had  those  stupendous  talents  not  been  united  to  one  of  the  most 
depraved  and  corrupt  spirits  which  ever  animated  the  human 
form,  they  w^ould  have  achieved  monuments  of  their  power,  per- 
haps greater,  nobler,  and  more  wondrous  than  those  even  of 
Shakespeare. 

Other  poets  of  exalted  talent  graced  the  era  of  George  IV. ; 
among  whom  belong  Campbell,  the  greatest  lyric  writer  whom 
England  has  produced,  but  who  also  excels  in  other  species  of 
poetic  composition.  He  may  justly  be  denominated  the  Peer- 
less Bard  of  Hope ;  for  his  poem  on  that  subject  contains  stanzas  of 
matchless  beauty.  His  "Mariners  of  England,"  "  Hohenlinden," 
"  Battle  of  the  Baltic,"  and  "  Last  Man,"  all  possess  a  kind  of  lurid, 
meteoric,  unearthly  grandeur,  which,  while  it  delights,  also  appalls 
the  reader,  and  retains  a  deathless  grasp  upon  his  memory  and 
imagination.  Thomas  Moore  was  essentially  the  poet  of  Love, 
both  Oriental  and  Hibernian ;  the  Ovid  of  modern  times  both  in 
genius  and  in  morals.  Llis  images  are  often  brilliant,  and  generally 
pleasing  ;  he  is  the  favorite  chiefly  of  women  and  youth.  Yet  a 
few  of  his  minor  productions,  such  as  "  Oft  in  the  stilly  night," 
"  The  Last  Eose  of  Summer,"  and  "  Love's  Young  Dream,"  find 
a  welcome  echo  in  every  human  breast,  and  will  ever  be  cher- 
ished as  among  the  brightest  and  purest  gems  of  genius.  Sec- 
ondary and  inferior  to  these  poetic  master-spirits  were  Rogers,  the 
author  of  the  "  Pleasures  of  Memory ;  "  Southey,  the  writer  of 
"  Thalaba; "  Woi-dsworth,  the  poet  of  nature  and  the  poor ;  Cole- 
ridge, the  erratic,  philosophical,  unhappy  metaphysician  and  bard, 
who  might  have  accomplished  anything,  and  effected  almost  noth- 
ing ;  the  pathetic  and  polished  Hemans ;  Crabbe,  the  unimaginative, 
and  Tennyson,  the  eccentric ;  these  constitute  the  chief  stars  in 
that  rare  galaxy  of  gifted  minds,  which  render  the  era  of  George 
IV.  an  Augustan  age  of  British  poetry. 

Nor  was  that  age  deficient  in  the  production  of  able  and  pro- 


LIFE  AND   EEIGN   OF   GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  437 

found  thinkers.  Dugald  Stewart,  Thomas  Brown,  Malthus, 
Paley,  Bentham,  were  all  men  of  vast  depth  and  originality  as 
thinkers  and  writers  in  the  several  departments  of  Mental  Phi- 
losophy, Natural  Theology,  and  Political  Economy.  This  was 
the  era  of  the  birth  of  that  keen  and  powerful  class  of  critics 
whose  abilities  founded  and  built  up  the  Edinburgh  Eeview  and 
Blackwood's  Magazine,  and  introduced  a  new,  more  just,  and 
more  startling  style  of  criticism  than  had  ever  been  known  in 
the  history  of  British  literature.  Jeffrey,  Brougham,  Mackintosh, 
Sidney  Smith,  Alison,  Macaulay,  Lockhart,  and  Wilson,  consti- 
tuted this  remarkable  assemblage  of  writers,  whose  essays  rival 
in  beauty,  while  they  excel  in  profundity  and  thoroughness,  the 
productions  of  the  elder  school  of  British  essayists,  of  whom  Ad- 
dison and  Steele  were  the  chief  Turner,  Lingard,  Tytler,  Hal- 
lam,  Mitfoi-d  and  Grote,  were  the  most  eminent  historians  of  this 
period  ;  Marryatt,  Miss  Edgeworth,  Bulwer,  and  D'Israeli  were 
its  chief  novelists  ;  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  Turner,  Copley,  Land- 
seer,  Wilkie,  and  Flaxman,  were  its  most  distinguished  artists  ; 
Mrs.  Siddons,  Miss  O'Niell,  John  Kemble,  and  Edmund  Kean, 
were  its  most  accomplished  tragedians  ;  Chalmers,  Robert  Hall, 
John  Foster  and  Edward  Irving  were  the  most  eloquent  and  pop- 
ular of  its  pulpit  orators.  The  details  of  the  lives  and  labors  of  all 
these  illustrious  persons  are  necessarily  excluded  from  a  general 
survey  such  as  the  present ;  but  every  reader  in  any  degree 
familiar  with  the  literary  history  of  the  era  of  George  IV.  will 
at  once  recognize  the  varied  power,  richness,  and  splendor  of  the 
intellectual  wealth  which  was  lavished  by  British  genius,  ujjon 
British  law,  letters  and  art,  during  its  continuance.  It  may 
therefore  be  truly  said,  that  all  these  high  spheres  of  intellectual 
effort  flourished  with  more  than  ordinary  vigor  at  this  propitious 
period ;  for  though  we  have  here  enumerated  but  the  greatest 
names  of  the  time,  and  though  these  be  comparatively  few,  the 
general  spirit  of  improvement  prevailed  ;  the  "  schoolmaster  was 
abroad,"  thought,  action,  hope,  were  vigorous,  and  progress  in 
every  branch  of  human  endeavor  and  improvement  was  steady 
and  decisive.     This  statement  applies  with  peculiar  force  after 


438  HISTOET   OF  THE  FOUE   GEOEGES. 

the  wars  which  had  desolated  Europe  had  been  terminated ;  after 
the  nations  had  recovered  from  the  collapse  which  the  unaccus- 
tomed repose  of  peace  had  produced ;  and  after  the  conclusion  of 
the  regency,  and  the  commencement  of  the  sovereignty  of  George 
IV.  Prolific  as  are  many  eras  of  British  history  in  the  pro- 
duction of  events  of  vast  importance  and  of  thrilling  interest, 
the  period  of  The  Four  Georges,  the  survey  of  which  we  here 
terminate,  must  be  regarded  as  possessing  no  secondary  conse- 
quence. During  its  stormy  and  adventurous  progress,  the  princi- 
ples of  constitutional  freedom,  which  are  the  great  boast  of  the 
British  nation,  were  clearly  defined  and  perm^anently  estab- 
lished ;  the  limits  of  the  empire  in  the  East  were  vastly  enlarged 
and  aggrandized ;  those  in  the  Western  World  were  indeed 
lopped  off  and  curtailed ;  but  this  apparent  calamity  led  to  the 
consummation  of  events  most  glorious  for  humanity,  if  they  were 
pernicious  to  Great  Britain,  inasmuch  as  it  secured  the  establish- 
ment of  a  numerous  cluster  of  powerful  republics  which  are  now 
the  refuge  and  the  shrine  of  the  oppressed  of  all  nations  :  while 
the  Georges  held  rule,  the  European  continent  was  upheaved  by 
the  throes  of  revolution  and  of  warfare ;  that  continent  was  again 
in  turn  pacified  and  rendered  stable  ;  and  when  the  last  monarch 
of  that  name  descended  to  the  tomb,  he  left  behind  him,  without 
any  merit  on  his  part,  an  Empire  more  extensive,  more  power- 
fiil,  more  enlightened,  and  more  opulent,  than  that  which  had,  in 
any  previous  age,  acknowledged  the  sup-yemacy  of  the  British 
sceptre. 


APPENDIX. 

JS'o.  I. 

EEPOET  OP  THE  EOTAL  COMMISSIONERS  ON  THE  CHAEGES  TEE- 
FEEEED  AGAINST  QUEEN  CAEOLINE: 

May  it  please  Your  Majesty. 

Your  Majesty  having  been  graciously  pleased  by  an  instrument  under 
your  Majesty's  Royal  Sign  Manual,  a  copy  of  which  is  annexed  to  this 
Report,  to  "  authorize,  empower,  and  direct  us  to  inquire  into  the  truth 
"  of  certain  written  declarations,  touching  the  conduct  of  Her  Royal 
"  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales,  an  abstract  of  which  had  been  laid 
"  before  Your  Majesty,  and  to  examine  upon  oath  such  persons  as  we 
"  should  see  fit,  touching  and  concerning  the  same,  and  to  report  to 
"  Your  Majesty  the  result  of  such  examinations."  We  have,  in  dutiful 
obedience  to  Your  Majesty's  commands,  proceeded  to  examine  the  sev- 
eral witnesses,  the  copies  of  whose  depositions  we  have  hereunto  an- 
nexed ;  and,  in  further  execution  of  the  said  commands,  we  now  most 
respectfully  submit  to  Your  Majesty  the  report  of  these  examinations 
as  it  has  appeared  to  us  :  But  we  beg  leave  at  the  same  time  humbly 
to  refer  Your  ilajesty,  for  more  complete  information,  to  the  examina- 
tions themselves,  in  order  to  correct  any  error  of  judgment,  into  which 
we  may  have  unintentionally  fallen,  with  respect  to  any  part  of  this 
business.  On  a  reference  to  the  above  mentioned  declarations,  as  the 
necessary  foundation  of  all  our  proceedings,  we  found  that  they  con- 
sisted in  certain  statements,  wliich  had  been  laid  before  His  Royal 
Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales,  respecting  the  conduct  of  Her  Royal 
Highness  the  Princess.    That  these  statements  not  only  imputed  to 


4:4:0  APPENDIX. 

Her  Eoyal  Highness  great  impropriety  and  indecency  of  behavior,  but 
expressly  asserted,  partly  on  the  ground  of  certain  alleged  declarations 
from  the  Princess's  own  mouth,  and  partly  on  the  personal  observation 
of  the  informants,  the  following  most  important  facts ;  viz.  That  Her 
Royal  Highness  had  been  pregnant  in  the  year  1802,  in  consequence  of 
an  illicit  intercourse,  and  that  she  had  in  the  same  year  been  secretly 
delivered  of  a  male  child,  which  child  ever  since  that  period  had  been 
brought  up  by  Her  Royal  Highness  in  her  own  house,  and  under  her 
immediate  inspection. 

These  allegations  thus  made,  had,  as  we  found,  been  followed  by 
declarations  from  other  persons,  who  had  not  indeed  spoken  to  the  im- 
portant facts  of  the  pregnancy  or  delivery  of  Her  Royal  Highness,  but 
had  related  other  particulars,  in  themselves  extremely  suspicious, 
and  still  more  so  when  connected  with  the  assertions  already  men- 
tioned. 

In  the  painful  situation,  in  which  His  Royal  Highness  was  placedj 
by  these  communications,  we  learnt  that  His  Royal  Highness  had 
adopted  the  only  course  which  could  in  our  judgment,  with  propriety  be 
followed.  When  informations  such  as  these,  had  been  thus  confidently 
alleged,  and  particularly  detailed,  and  had  been  in  some  degree  sup- 
ported by  collateral  evidence,  apjilying  to  other  points  of  the  same  na- 
ture (though  going  to  a  far  less  extent,)  one  line  only  could  be  pur- 
sued. 

Every  sentiment  of  duty  to  Your  Majesty,  and  of  concern  for  the 
public  welfare,  required  that  these  particulars  should  not  be  withheld 
from  Your  Majesty,  to  whom  more  particularly  belonged  the  cogni- 
zance of  a  matter  of  State,  so  nearly  touching  the  honour  of  Your  Ma- 
jesty's Royal  Family,  and  by  possibility,  affecting  the  Succession  of 
Your  Majesty's  crown. 

Your  Majesty  had  been  pleased,  on  your  part,  to  view  the  subject 
in  the  same  light.  Considering  it  as  a  matter  which  on  every  account, 
demanded  the  most  immediate  investigation,  Your  Majesty  had  thought 
fit  to  commit  into  our  hands  the  duty  of  ascertaining,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, what  degree  of  credit  was  due  to  the  informations,  and  thereby 
enabling  Your  Majesty  to  decide  what  further  conduct  to  adopt  con- 
cerning them. 

On  this  review,  therefore,  of  the  matters  thus  alleged,  and  of  the 
course  hitherto  pursued  upon  them,  we  deemed  it  proper  in  the  first 
place  to  examine  those  persons  in  whose  declarations  the  occasion  for 
this  inquiry  had  originated.     Because  if  they,  on  being  examined  upon 


APPENDIX.  441 

oath,  had  retracted  or  varied  their  assertions,  all  necessity  for  further 
investigation  might  possibly  have  been  precluded. 

We  accordingly  first  examined  on  oath  the  principal  informants,  Sir 
John  Douglas,  and  Charlotte  his  wife  :  who  both  positively  swore,  the 
former  to  his  having  observed  the  fact  of  the  pregnancy  of  Her  Royal 
Highness,  and  the  latter  to  all  the  important  ])articulars  contained  in 
her  former  declaration  and  above  referred  to.  Their  examinations  are 
annexed  to  this  Report,  and  are  circumstantial  and  positive. 

The  most  material  of  those  allegations,  into  the  truth  of  which  he 
had  been  directed  to  inquire,  being  thus  far  sujiported  by  the  oath  of 
the  parties  from  whom  they  had  proceeded,  we  then  felt  it  our  duty  to 
follow  up  the  Inquiry  by  the  examination  of  such  other  persons  as  we 
judged  best  able  to  afford  us  information,  as  to  the  facts  in  question. 

We  thought  it  beyond  all  doubt  that,  in  this  course  of  inquiry, 
many  particulars  must  be  learnt  which  would  be  necessarily  conclusive 
on  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  these  declarations.'  So  many  persons 
must  have  been  witnesses  to  the  appearances  of  an  actually  existing 
pregnancy  ;  so  many  circumstances  must  have  been  attendant  upon  a 
real  delivery;  and  diflScuIties  so  numerous  and  insurmountable  must 
have  been  involved  in  my  attempt  to  account  for  the  infant  in  question, 
as  the  child  of  another  woman,  if  it  had  been  in  fact  the  child  of  the 
Princess  ;  that  we  entertained  a  full  and  confident  expectation  of  arriv- 
ing at  complete  proof,  either  iu  the  aflSrmative,  or  negative,  on  this  jsart 
of  the  subject. 

This  expectation  was  not  disappointed.  We  are  happy  to  declare 
to  Your  Majesty  our  perfect  conviction  that  there  is  no  foundation 
whatever  for  believing  that  the  child  now  with  the  Princess  is  the  child 
of  Her  Royal  Highness,  or  that  she  was  delivered  of  any  child  in  the 
year  1802 ;  nor  has  any  thing  appeared  to  us  which  would  warrant  the 
belief  that  she  was  pregnant  in  that  year,  or  at  any  other  period  within 
the  compass  of  our  inquiries.  The  identity  of  the  child,  now  with  the 
Princess,  its  parentage,  the  place  and  the  date  of  its  birth,  the  time  and 
the  circumstances  of  its  being  first  taken  under  Her  Royal  Highness's 
protection,  are  all  established  by  such  a  concurrence  both  of  positive 
and  circumstantial  evidence,  as  can,  in  our  judgment,  leave  no  question 
on  this  part  of  the  subject.  The  child  was  beyond  all  doubt,  born  in 
the  Brownlow-Street  Hospital,  on  the  11th  day  of  July,  1802,  of  the 
bodj^  of  Sophia  Austin,  and  was  first  brought  to  the  Princess's  House 
in  the  month  of  November  following.  Neither  should  we  be  more  war- 
ranted in  expressing  any  doubt  respecting  the  alleged  pregnancy  of  the 


442  APPENDIX. 

Princess,  as  stated  in  the  original  declarations  ; — a  fact  so  fully  contra- 
dicted, and  by  so  many  witnesses  to  whom,  if  true,  it  must  in  various 
ways  have  been  known,  that  we  cannot  think  it  entitled  to  the  smallest 
credit.  The  testimonies  on  these  two  points  are  contained  in  the  an- 
nexed depositions  and  letters.  We  have  not  partially  abstracted  them 
in  this  Ecport,  lest,  by  any  unintentional  omission,  we  might  weaken 
their  effect ;  but  we  humbly  offer  to  Your  Majesty  this  our  clear  and 
unanimous  judgment  upon  them,  formed  on  full  deliberation,  and  pro- 
nounced without  hesitation,  on  the  result  of  the  whole  Inquiry. 

"We  do  not,  however,  feel  ourselves  at  liberty,  much  as  we  should 
wish  it,  to  close  our  Report  here.  Besides  the  allegations  of  the  preg- 
nancy and  delivery  of  the  Princess,  those  declarations,  on  the  whole  of 
which  Your  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  command  us  to  inquire  and 
report,  contain,  as  we  have  alreadj^  remarked,  other  particulars  respect- 
ing the  conduct  of  her  Royal  Highness,  such  as  must,  especially  con- 
sidering her  exalted  rank  and  station,  necessarily  give  occasion  to  very 
unfavourable  interpretations. 

From  the  various  depositions  and  proofs  annexed  to  this  Report, 
particularly  from  the  examinations  of  Robert  Bidgood,  William  Cole. 
Frances  Lloyd,  and  Mrs.  Lisle,  Your  Majesty  will  perceive  that  several 
strong  circumstances  of  this  description  have  been  positively  sworn  to 
by  witnesses,  who  cannot,  in  our  judgment,  be  suspected  of  any  unfa- 
vourable bias,  and  whose  veracity,  in  this  respect,  we  have  seen  no 
ground  to  question. 

On  the  precise  bearing  and  effect  of  the  facts  thus  appearing,  it  is 
not  for  us  to  decide :  these  we  submit  to  Y'our  Majesty's  wisdom : 
But  we  conceive  it  to  be  our  duty  to  report  on  this  part  of  the  In- 
quiry, as  distinctly  as  on  the  former  facts :  that  as  on  the  one  hand, 
the  facts  of  pregnancy  and  delivery  are  to  our  minds  satisfactorily  dis- 
proved, so  on  the  other  hand  we  think,  that  the  circumstances  to  which 
we  now  refer,  particularly  those  stated  to  have  passed  between  Her 
Royal  Highness  and  Captain  Manby,  must  be  credited  until  they  shall 
receive  some  decisive  contradiction ;  and,  if  true,  are  justly  entitled  to 
the  most  serious  consideration. 

We  cannot  close  this  Report,  without  humbly  assuring  Your  Ma- 
jesty, that  it  was,  on  every  account,  our  anxious  wish,  to  have  executed 
this  delicate  trust,  with  as  little  publicity  as  the  nature  of  the  case 
would  possibly  allow ;  and  we  entreat  Your  Majesty's  permission  to 
express  our  full  persuasion,  that  if  this  wish  has  been  disappointed,  the 


APPENDIX.  4A3 

failure  is  not  imputable  to  any  thing  unnecessarily  said  or  done  by  us. 
All  which  is  most  humbly  submitted  to  your  Majesty. 
(Signed)  ERSKINE, 

SPENCER, 
GRENVILLE, 
July  14th,  180G.  ELLENBOROUGH. 

A  true  Copy, 

J.  Beclcet. 


^o.  II. 

DEPOSITION  OF  SOPHIA  AUSTIN. 

I  KNOW  the  child  which  is  now  with  the  Princess  of  Wales.  I  am 
the  mother  of  it.  I  was  delivered  of  it  four  years  ago  the  11th  of  July 
next,  at  Brownlow-street  Hospital.  I  have  lain-in  there  three  times. 
William,  who  is  with  the  Princess,  is  the  second  child  I  laid-in  of  there. 
It  was  marked  in  the  right  hand  with  red  wine.  ]\Iy  husband  was  a 
laborer  in  the  Dock-yard  at  Deptford.  When  peace  was  proclaimed,  a 
number  of  the  workmen  were  discharged,  and  my  husband  was  ono 
who  was  discharged.  I  went  to  the  Princess  with  a  petition  on  a  Sat- 
urday, to  try  to  get  my  husband  restored.  I  lived  at  that  time  at 
Deptford,  New-Row,  No.  7,  with  a  person  of  the  name  of  Bcarblock. 
He  was  a  milkman.  The  day  I  went  to  the  Princess  with  the  petition, 
was  a  fortnight  before,  the  6th  of  November.  Mr.  Bennet,  a  baker  in 
New-street,  was  our  dealer,  and  I  took  the  child  to  Mr.  Bonnet's  when 
I  went  to  receive  my  husband's  wages  every  week  from  the  time  I  left 
the  Hospital  till  I  carried  the  child  to  the  Princess.  I  knew  Mr.  Stike- 
man  only  by  having  seen  him  once  before,  when  I  went  to  apply  for  a 
letter  to  Brownlow-street  Hospital.  When  I  went  to  Montague 
House,  I  desired  Mr.  Stikcman  to  present  my  petition.  He  said  they 
were  denied  to  do  such  things,  but  seeing  me  with  a  baby  he  could  do 
no  less.  He  then  took  the  child  fi-om  me,  and  was  a  long  time  gone. 
He  then  brought  me  back  the  child,  and  brought  half-a-guinea  which 
the  ladies  sent  me.  He  said  if  the  child  had  been  younger,  he  could 
have  got  it  taken  care  of  for  me,  but  desired  that  I  would  come  up 
again,  I  went  up  again  on  the  Monday  following,  and  I  saw  Mr.  Stike- 
man.  Mr.  Stikeman  afterwards  came  several  times  to  us,  and  ap- 
pointed me  to  take  the  child  to  ^lontague  House  on  the  5th  of  Novem- 
ber, but  it  rained  all  day,  and  I  did  not  take  it.    Mr.  Stikeman  came 


4A4:  APPE^^)IX. 

down  to  me  on  the  Saturday  the  6th  of  November,  and  I  took  the  child 
on  that  day  to  the  Princess's  house.  The  Princess  was  out.  I  waited 
till  she  returned.  She  saw  the  child,  and  asked  its  age.  I  went  down 
into  the  coflfee-room,  and  they  gave  nie  some  arrow-root  to  wean  the 
child ;  for  I  was  suckling  the  child  at  this  time,  and  when  I  had  weaned 
the  child.  I  was  to  bring  it  and  leave  it  with  the  Princess.  I  did  wean 
the  ahild,  and  brought  it  to  the  Princess's  house  on  the  15th  of  No- 
vember, and  left  it  there,  and  it  has  been  with  the  Princess  ever  since. 
I  saw  the  cliild  last  "\Yhit-Monday.  and  I  swear  that  it  is  mj'  child. 

SOPHIA  AUSTIN. 
Sworn  at  Lord  Grenville's  House  in  Downing-street,  the  seventh 
day  of  June,  1806,  before  us, 

ERSKINE, 
SPENCER, 
A  true  Copy,  GRENYILLE, 

J.  Beclet.  ELLENBOROUGH. 


No.  ni. 

TESTDIOXT  OF  THE   PwOTAI.  PHYSICIANS  EESPECTING  THE  INSANITY 

OF  GEOPvGE  III. 

"I  SHOULD  like  to  give  an  account  of  the  first  consultation  we  had 
with  Dr.  "Willis. — The  day  that  I  introduced  Dr.  "Willis  to  the  King, 
I  summoned  the  rest  of  his  Majesty's  physicians  to  a  consultation  at 
my  house.  It  was  there  first  settled  as  a  principle,  that  quiet  of  body 
and  mind  were  to  be  endeavored  to  be  obtained  by  every  means  pos- 
sible; and  that  every  thing  should  be  kept  carefully  from  his  Majesty 
that  might  tend  to  prevent  this  desirable  acquisition.  It  was  settled 
that  a  regular  coercion  should  be  made  use  of ;  that  every  thing  should 
be  kept  from  his  Majesty  that  was  likely  to  excite  any  emotion ;  that 
though  his  Majesty  had  not  shewn  any  signs  of  an  intention  to  injure 
himself,  yet  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary,  considering  the  sudden 
impulses  to  which  his  distemper  subjects  people,  to  put  every  thing 
out  of  the  way  that  could  do  any  mischief.  To  all  this  Dr.  "Willis 
assented;  yet  the  very  next  day  he  put  a  razor  into  his  Majesty's 
hand,  and  a  penknife.  "When  I  saw  the  doctor  next,  I  asked  him  how 
he  could  venture  to  do  such  a  thing  1  He  said,  he  shuddered  at  what 
he  had  done.  As  he  made  use  of  this  expression,  I  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  say  much  to  him  upon  the  subject.  On  the  12th  of  De- 
cember, as  I  apprehend,  the  King  took  a  walk  in  the  garden,  and  some 


APPENDIX. 


445 


of  the  royal  children  were  shewn  to  him — this  produced  a  considerable 
emotion,  which  was  accompanied  with  acts  demonstrating  that  emotion, 
as  I  was  informed,  to  the  best  of  my  memory,  by  Mr.  Keate. — Not- 
withstanding this  effect  of  seeing  the  children,  Dr.  Willis,  the  next  day, 
introduced  that  Person,  whose  great  and  amiable  qualities,  we  all 
know,  must  necessarily  make  her  the  dearest  and  tenderest  object  of 
his  Majesty's  thoughts— the  interview  was  short — his  Majesty  was 
soon  afterwards  in  a  great  state  of  irritation ;  and  the  strict  coercion 
was,  I  believe,  for  the  first  time,  actually  applied  that  night— the 
blisters  were  put  on  that  night  likewise.  The  next  time  that  I  saw 
Dr.  Willis,  I  spoke  to  him  upon  this  subject  with  some  degree  of  sharp- 
ness, because  it  was  contrary  to  my  opinion,  and  contrary  to  what  had 
been  settled  in  consultation ;  for  it  had  been  referred,  that  whatever 
could  be  done  by  deliberation,  should  be  settled  by  consultation  ;  that 
the  conduct  of  his  Majesty  in  the  interior  room,  should  be  left  to  Dr. 
Willis's  discretion,  because  it  did  not  admit  of  deliberation. — I  do  not 
know  that  I  convinced  the  Doctor  that  his  opinion  was  wrong,  but 
that  the  act  was  contrary  to  what  was  laid  down  in  consultation  could 
not  be  denied. — I  was  always  considered,  by  the  highest  authority, 
as  the  first  physician,  and  therefore  thought  myself  particularly  re- 
sponsible ;  I  thought  myself  obliged  to  look  into,  and  to  inquire  after 
every  thing  that  related  to  his  Majesty ;  I  did  not  suppose  myself  in  a 
different  situation  upon  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Willis,  and  therefore  took 
the  liberty  of  speaking  to  him  with  some  degree  of  authority.  I 
remember  when  his  three  attendants  arrived,  I  sent  for  them  into  the 
physicians'  room,  examined  them  very  carefully,  particularly  as  to  the 
temper  with  which  they  conducted  themselves  towards  those  whom 
they  attended,  and  spoke  to  them,  as  they  were  strangers  to  me,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  let  them  know  that  their  conduct  would  be  strictly 
observed. — !My  being  first  physician  made  me  talk  to  Dr.  Willis  about 
every  thing  that  I  heard  of,  that  did  not  appear  to  me  to  be  quite 
accurate,  and  sometimes  led  to  disputes. — I  informed  the  Doctor  that 
he  was  there  in  a  double  capacity — as  physician  and  attendant  on  his 
Majesty  in  the  interior  room ;  that  I  must  take  my  share  in  directing 
what  related  to  him  in  the  capacity  of  physician,  though  I  should  not 
interfere  with  respect  to  the  conduct  of  his  Majesty  in  the  interior 
room.  Not  many  days  after  this  transaction  I  observed  a  book  in  his 
Majesty's  hands,  which  affected  me  much,  and  immediately  determined 
me  to  bring  a  charge  against  Dr.  Willis,  for  what  I  thought  bad  prac- 
tice.— I  do  not  mean  to  bring  the  story  of  this  book  as  a  fault,  because 


446  APPENDIX. 

I  believe  there  was  no  intention  to  convey  sucli  a  book  to  his  Majesty : 
it  was  the  play  of  King  Lear,  not  in  a  volume  of  Shakspeare,  but  it 
was  a  corrected  Lear,  by  Colman,  and  mixed  with  his  plays.  I  can 
have  no  reason  to  think  that  Dr.  Willis  could  suspect  that  such  a  play 
was  in  that  volume.  His  ^Majesty  told  me  that  Dr.  Wilhs  brought 
him  the  book,  and  Dr.  Willis  did  not  deny  it,  when  I  spoke  to  him  on 
the  subject. — I  do  not  bring  this  as  a  fault,  but  it  was  the  circumstance 
that  determined  me  to  put  in  execution  what  I  had  been  thinking  of 
before,  with  respect  to  Dr.  Willis ;  for  his  Majesty's  observation  on 
the  book  affected  me  strangely.  I  carried  an  account  of  this  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  he  desired  me,  as  he  had  done  in  every  case  of 
difiBculty  that  had  happened,  from  the  beginning  of  the  illness,  to  lay 
the  affair  before  the  Lord  Chancellor.  The  Lord  Chancellor  went  to 
Kew,  I  believe ;  and  the  result  was,  when  I  saw  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
that  the  rules  of  the  consultation  should  be  strictly  obeyed. — Dr. 
Willis  has,  a  second  time,  introduced  the  same  great  and  amiable 
Person.  I  was  informed  that  some  degree  of  irritation  came  on  in  the 
night ;  but  having  collected,  as  I  thought,  from  several  small  circum- 
stances, that  the  power  of  introducing  persons  to  his  Majesty  was  to 
be  left  entirely  to  Dr.  Willis,  I  did  not  make  any  complaint  about  it." 

"  Can  you  ascertain  the  time  of  the  last  interview  ?  " "  I  cannot." 

"  What  time  of  day  was  the  first  interview  ?  " 

"  I  apprehend  the  first  interview  was  in  the  evening — and  that  the 
interview  happened,  not  only  without  consulting  his  Majesty's  physi- 
cians collectively,  but  that  Dr.  Gisborne,  who  was  in  the  house  that 
evening,  and  sitting  in  the  anti-chamber  when  the  introduction  took 
place,  was  not  consulted  upon  the  occasion." 

"  Do  you  recollect  any  conversation  you  had  with  Dr.  Willis  con- 
cerning the  King's  being  asleep,  or  disposed  to  sleep,  at  a  time  when 
you  was  going  in  to  his  Majesty  ?  " 

'■'  I  remember  a  morning  when  Dr.  Willis  said  his  Majesty  had  had 
a  bad  night,  which  I  myself  had  been  acquainted  with  by  asking  the 
page,  as  I  passed  by  the  King's  anti-chamber,  the  door  of  which  I 
opened  as  I  was  going  into  the  physician's  room. — In  the  physician's 
room  I  mentioned  that  I  had  learnt  the  King  had  had  a  very  bad 
night,  but  was  then  fallen  asleep. — I  sat  down,  and  what  discourse 
passed  between  me  and  Dr.  Willis  then,  about  the  night,  I  do  not 
know — a  few  words  only. — The  Doctor  soon  went  out  of  the  room, 
and  when  he  returned,  said,  '  That  the  King  was  not  sleeping,  for  that 
he  spoke.' — I  got  up,  the  attending  physician  of  the  day  with  me^  and 


APPENDIX.  447 

walked  towards  Dr.  Willis — we  went  together  through  the  anti-cham- 
ber ;  when  I  arrived  at  the  door  of  his  Majesty's  bod-room,  Dr.Willis 
said,  You  may  open  the  door,  a  circumstance  that  I  do  not  recollect, 
ever  to  have  happened  to  me  before — somebody  else  generally  opening 
the  door : — when  I  opened  it,  I  found  that  the  room  was  dark — I  step- 
ped forwards  very  slowly ;  as  soon  as  I  had  gone  the  width  of  the 
door,  I  was  visible  to  his  Majesty.  The  door  being  open,  his  Majesty 
immediately  addressed  himself  very  pointedly  to  me,  saying, '  I  am  glad 
to  see  you,'  and  adding  his  wish  to  be  released  from  the  state  he  was 
then  in,  which  was  a  state  of  coercion.  I  hesitated ;  went  one  step 
back  to  look  for  Dr.  Willis,  who  was  standing  very  near  me.  I  said 
something  to  the  Doctor,  and  he  immediately  replied,  in  substance, 
that  if  his  Majesty  complained  I  might  comply  with  his  request.  In 
consequence  of  which  it  was  done,  by  my  desire.  I  staid  but  a  short 
time  with  his  Majesty,  and,  as  I  was  walking  back,  I  said,  'I  had 
some  doubts  whether  the  complying  with  his  Majesty's  request  was 
not  improper,  for  he  is  in  a  very  irritated  state.'  Dr.  Willis  said, 
'  His  Majesty  will  rise  presently,  and  then  we  shall  be  able  to  do  with- 
out coercion.' " 


No.  IV. 

SPECIMEN   OP  EDMUND  BUKKE'S  ELOQUENCE  ON  THE  EEGENCT  BILL. 

•  Mr.  Burke  rose,  and  declared  liimself  astonished  that  the  Bill 
should  be  proposed  to  be  read  a  second  time,  without  the  House  hav- 
ing heard  a  syllable  as  to  what  the  principles  of  the  Bill,  as  opened  and 
acted  upon  by  the  clauses  and  provisions  of  the  Bill,  were.  He  had, 
he  said,  often  known  the  principles  upon  which  a  Bill  bad  been  ordered 
to  be  brought  in.  either  totally  lost  sight  of  in  the  Bill  itself,  or  so 
violently  strained  and  departed  from  in  the  various  clauses,  that 
scarcely  a  single  principle  upon  which  the  House  had  resolved  to  legis- 
late, was  to  be  found  in  the  Bill,  or  to  be  found  entire.  It  behoved  the 
House,  therefore,  at  all  times,  to  watch  great  and  important  Bills 
narrowly,  and  to  see  that  they  were  not  deceived  and  deluded ;  and 
that  while  they  meant  and  had  resolved  to  pass  a  Bill  for  one  purpose, 
they  were  not  induced  to  pass  a  Bill,  containing  provisions  to  answer 
a  very  different  purpose.  There  might  possibly,  he  said,  exist  some 
doubts  as  to  the  constitutional  and  legal  competency  of  the  character 
in  which  they  were  then  proceeding  to  act  as  a  branch  of  a  perfect 


448  APPENDIX. 

legislature ;  in  argument  and  in  debate,  he  and  others  had  much  ques- 
tioned the  validity  of  the  Commission,  under  the  authority  of  which 
Parliament  had  been  opened ;  but  admitting  for  the  present  that  there 
had  been  exercised  a  competent  power  to  make  the  House  a  Parlia- 
ment, and  enable  them  to  do  the  act,  upon  which  they  were  proceeding, 
they  ought  to  see  what  the  Bill  was,  before  they  went  on  with  it,  and 
therefore,  though  he  meant  not  to  debate  the  subject  at  large,  he  should 
take  the  liberty  of  calling  the  attention  of  the  House,  before  they  read 
the  Bill  a  second  time,  to  the  extent  of  its  provisions,  and  the  extraor- 
dinary manner  in  which  the  Resolutions  that  the  two  Houses  had  come 
to  were  now  attempted  to  be  made  use  of,  and  carried  into  eifect.  Never 
surely,  said  he,  was  there  a  time  when  the  people  of  England  and  that 
House  were  so  called  on  to  see  wliat  they  were  doing,  and  to  examine, 
with  every  possible  degree  of  prudence  and  foresight,  the  serious  and  im- 
portant consequences  what  they  were  doing  might  lead  to.  His  JNIajesty's 
incapacity  to  exercise  the  Royal  Authority  had  been  established,  to 
the  conviction  of  the  two  Houses,  in  a  manner  that  left  all  possibility 
of  doubt  out  of  the  question;  indeed,  if  the  examination  of  his 
Majesty's  physicians  had  not  taken  place,  the  fact  would  be  too  clear 
to  have  admitted  a  dispute,  from  a  great  variety  of  consequences  not 
necessary  to  be  detailed,  because  they  were  consequences  which  they 
not  only  saw  but  felt.  The  duration  of  his  Majesty's  malady,  the  turns 
it  might  take,  the  disguises  it  might  assume,  lay  hidden  in  the  secret 
recesses  of  the  dispositions  of  Providence.  His  Majesty  was  insane, 
but  his  malady  was  not  like  that  of  some  other  persons  w'ho  were 
under  confinement  in  houses  and  places  destined  for  such  purposes, 
intermittent,  various,  subject  to  degrees,  lucid  intervals,  and  occasional 
visitations  of  reason,  but  his  faculties  were  totally  eclipsed ;  and  as 
Dr.  Willis,  in  the  sanguine  temper,  ungoverned  zeal,  and  impetuous 
rashness  of  his  mind,  could  not  take  upon  him  to  decide  what  would 
be  the  duration  of  his  Majesty's  illness,  it  was  not  likely  that  physi- 
cians of  more  moderate  minds,  of  cooler  judgments,  and  of  more  sober 
reason,  should  take  upon  them  to  decide  the  duration  of  the  malady 
that  had  struck  at  the  Sovereignty  of  the  Empire,  and  wounded  every 
thing  that  was  Sovereign,  either  in  the  political  or  natural  capacity  of 
the  King  upon  the  Throne.  Not  any  thing  like  a  moderate  time, 
therefore,  had  been  promised  for  the  duration  of  his  Majesty's  illness  ; 
the  malady  of  the  Monarch  consequently  was  fixed  to  no  known 
definite  time,  and  at  that  moment  a  Bill  was  brought  in  totally  to 
Beparatc  and  parcel  out  the  Royal  Authority,  so  as  to  leave  only  the 


APPENDIX.  449 

chance  of  a  Goveiiiment  necessarily  so  weak  and  impotent,  as  to  be 
scarce  able  to  stand  at  all.  All  limited  power,  Mr.  Burke  said,  was 
from  its  nature  feeble,  and  the  circumstance  of  its  being  only  temporary 
and  uncertain,  rendered  it  still  more  deficient  in  vigor  and  in  efficacy. 
The  first  object  of  the  Bill  was,  he  observed,  to  nominate  a  person  to 
hold  this  weak  and  almost  useless  Government.  The  next  purpose  it 
avowed  its  aim  to  efi*ect,  was  the  raising  a  power  in  opposition  to  that 
Royal  Authority.  Those  who  gave  such  powers,  were  clearly  to  be  the 
masters  of  them,  and  there  could  no  doubt  remain  but  that  the  Bill 
was  drawn  with  a  design  to  answer  the  rash  ends  of  the  mad  and  dar- 
ing ambition  of  a  Ilight  Honorable  Gentleman,  whose  conduct  had  but 
too  plainly  manifested  his  view,  and  his  intentions.  Thus  there  was  a 
partition  of  power,  in  which  the  Prince  was  destined  to  have  no  other 
than  an  official  character,  while  all  the  Palaces,  Offices,  and  Dignities, 
were  given  to  another.  This  partition  was  more  odious  and  offensive 
than  the  famous  partition  treaty  relative  to  the  succession,  on  the 
death  of  the  last  Prince  of  the  House  of  Austria.  It  was  a  partition 
founded  on  a  most  wicked  and  malicious  pruiciple ;  every  thing  that 
was  degrading  and  restrictive,  every  thing  that  stamped  a  suspicion  on 
the  character  of  the  Prince,  and  conveyed  a  gross  affront  to  his  Royal 
Highness,  by  holding  him  out  as  a  person  not  to  be  trusted,  as  a  person 
whom  the  public  ought  to  suspect,  and  were  likely  to  be  deceived  by, 
was  done  by  what  was  withheld  in  the  Bill ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
all  that  was  graceful,  all  that  was  honorable,  all  that  was  calculated  to 
hold  up  a  character  as  great,  virtuous,  and  meritorious,  was  given 
where  an  opposition  was  set  up  to  oppose  and  counteract  the  executive 
Government.  This  Bill  affected  to  give  the  Royal  Authority,  and 
tended  to  answer  the  purposes  of  a  faction  against  that  authority.  Its 
real  object  was  to  defeat  the  preferable  claim  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to 
the  Regency,  in  the  very  moment  that  the  Claim  had  been  in  practice 
and  in  effect,  found  to  be  irresistible,  and  to  set  up  what  had  been 
termed  the  equal  Right  of  a  Subject  as  paramount  to  the  Prince's 
Right.  Mr.  Burke,  with  great  warmth,  declaimed  upon  the  purport 
of  the  Bill,  in  the  view  of  which  he  chose  to  consider  it.  and  among  a 
variety  of  other  invectives  against  it,  said,  the  doctrine  of  divine  right, 
which  had  been  exploded  in  the  House  of  the  Stuarts,  was  now  revived 
in  favor  of  another  House.  The  present  jNIinister,  he  understood,  had 
been  called  an  7iea?;c«-&o;vi  Minister  in  another  place;  they  might  fairly 
suppose,  therefore,  that  he  had  a  divine  right  to  take  to  himself  a 
larger  portion  of  power  and  of  patronage  than  he  chose  to  leave  to  the 


450  APPENDIX. 

Prince  on  the  Throne ;  and  when  ho  said  the  Prince  on  the  Throne, 
he  begged  to  be  understood  as  alluding  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  sitting 
on  the  Throne  in  his  delegated  character,  on  the  behalf,  in  the  name, 
and  as  the  representative  of  his  father.     But  if  the  ]\Iinister  was 
already  declared  by  one  of  his  fanatics  to  be  an  Tieaven-'born  Minister, 
he  did  not  wonder  at  his  considering  himself  as  acting  under  the  in- 
fluence of  a  divine  right,  and  that  he  should  go  any  lengths  to  secure 
the  power  that  he  aimed  at.     By  the  present  Bill,  all  the  powers  of 
distributing  honors,  and  even  charity,  were  denied  the  Eegent.    There 
were,  ]Mr.  Burke  observed,  a  variety  of  lesser  instances  of  bounty 
annexed  to  the  Crown,  that  the  Regent  was  most  invidiously  restrained 
from.     There  were  employed  by  the  Household,  painters,  architects, 
poets,  historiographers,  and  many  other  artists  and  artificers  of  different 
degrees,  ranks,  orders,  and  descriptions,  to  reward  whom,  the  Prince 
was  deprived  of  every  possible  opportunity.     He  was  left  without  a 
table,  without  any  provision  that  resembled  the  shadow  of  royalty,  fur- 
ther than  what  he  had  enjoyed  as  Prince  of  Wales,  from  his  Majesty's 
personal  bounty.     Mr.  Burke  enlarged  upon  this  topic  considerably 
and  with  his  customary  ardor  of  expression.     Though,  he  trusted,  he 
honored  her  Majesty  as  much  as  any  other  subject,  he  did  not  think  she 
ought  to  have  that  patronage.     She  might  be  nominated  to  hold  it,  but 
he  was  confident  the  exercise  of  it  would  devolve  into  other  hands. 
The  Bill  was  calculated,  he  said,  to  eclipse  the  Royal  dignity,  and  to 
reduce  the  Regent  to  an  official  character,  which  was  a  scandal  to  the 
nation,  and  the  more  so,  as  coming  from  those  who  were  thought  men 
of  honor,  and  therefore  he  should  consider  it  as  a  wicked,  base,  and 
unjust  action,  not  more  degrading  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  than  dis- 
graceful to  the  perpetrators.    By  the  Bill,  responsibility  was  given  to 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  was  saddled  by  having  all  the  onerous  duties 
of  Government  imposed  on  him,  without  having  any  grateful  powers 
to  counterbalance  the  burthen,  while  the  dignity,  splendor,  and  real 
distribution  of  emoluments,  were  given  to  the  Minister.     The  Bill 
meant  not  only  to  degrade  the  Prince  of  Wales,  but  the  whole  House 
of  Brunswick,  who  were  to  be  outlawed^  excommunicated,  and  attainted 
as  having  forfeited  all  claim  to  the  confidence  of  the  country  ! 


INDEX. 


Addison,  Joseph,  his  genius  and  -writings, 
83,  S4,  85. 

American  Colonies,  origin  of  difficulties 
with,  224;  first  Congress  convenes  at 
rhihulelphia,  227 ;  conclusion  of  the  revo- 
lutionary war,  229. 

Anne,  Queen,  her  accession,  2 ;  her  death,  18. 

Anne,  Princess,  her  inarriago  to  the  Duke 
of  Orange,  10-3. 

Anson,  Cominoflore,  his  successes,  134. 

Atterbnry,  Bisho]),  plots  for  the  Pretender, 
59  ;  his  profanity,  90. 

Augusta,  Dowager  Princess  of  "Wales,  death 
of,  225. 


Birmingham,  riots  at,  258. 

Black  Hole,  horrors  of,  166. 

Blenheim,  battle  of,  3;  its  results,  5;  re- 
joicing in  England,  6. 

Bolingbroke,  flight  to  Franco,  41 ;  his  return 
to  England,  68;  his  intellectual  and  moral 
qualities,  71,  72,  73. 

Brent,  Miss,  becomes  mistress  of  George 
I.,  75. 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  his  hostility  to  Eng- 
land, 264;  military  operations  of,  265;  his 
autograph  letter  to  George  III..  267;  his 
downfall,  278;  escapes  from  Elb.a,  279; 
prepares  to  oppose  the  coalition,  280; 
battle  of  Charleroi,  281 ;  battle  of  Water- 
loo, 283. 

Brougham,  Lord,  his  birth,  423 ;  enters  Par- 
lianient,  423 ;  rivalry  between  him  and 
Canning,  424;  qualities  of  his  mind,  424; 
peculiarities  of  his  eloquence,  425;  his 
defence  of  Queen  Caroline,  372,  426 ;  bo- 
comes  chancellor,  426;  his  diversified 
talents,  427. 

Braddock,  defeat  at  Fort  Du  Quesne,  155. 

Brunswick,  princes  of,  20,  21 ;  Caroline  of; 
83S. 


Bute,  Lord,  his  history  and  character,  181 ; 
becomes  premier,  191  ;  measures  of,  192 ; 
signs  treaty  of  Fontainbleau,192 ;  his  great 
unpopularity,  195;  he  resigns,  196. 

Burke,  Edmund,  his  rise,  207;  animo.sity  to 
Warren  Hastings,  242  ;  his  detestation  of 
the  French  revolution,  255 ;  his  personal 
qualities,  302  ;  his  eloquence,  303. 

Byng,  Admiral,  his  trial  and  execution,  157, 
158. 

Byron,  Lord,  his  personal  history,  434,  485  ; 
his  writings,  435. 


Canning,  his  birth,  418;  circumstances  of 
his  youth,  419  ;  first  speech  in  Parliament, 
420 ;  his  pi'inciples,  421 ;  his  eloquence, 
422  ;  enters  the  Cabinet,  270,  405 ;  retort 
on  Mr.  Brougham,  399  ;  his  mental  quali- 
ties, 422 ;  his  death,  406. 

Campbell,  Thomas,  his  poetical  works,  436. 

Caroline  Queen  of  George  II.,  her  char- 
acter, 120,  130 ;  last  sickness  and  death, 
124-127. 

Carteret,  Lord,  his  eloquence,  99 ;  becomes 
Premier,  140. 

Catholics,  Eoman,  prejudices  against,  63; 
Catholic  Association,  4u2 ;  Catholic  Ke- 
lief  Bill  passed,  409. 

Caroline  of  Brunswick,  her  marriage,  839 ; 
charges  against  her,  352 ;  travels  on  the 
continent,  362 ;  her  conduct,  864 ;  second 
prosecution  airainst  her,  364;  her  return 
to  England,  365 ;  her  trial  before  the 
House  of  LordM,  309 ;  her  council,  371 ; 
her  acquittal,  378 ;  her  abortive  attempt 
to  be  crowned,  3S1  ;  her  last  sickness, 
3S3;  her  death,  384 ;  her  burial,  387. 

Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  178 ; 
marriage  to  George  III.,  179. 

Charlotte,  Princess,  lier  appearance,  856, 
deserts  her  father,  860. 

Chatham,  Lord.    (.See  Pitt.) 


452 


INDEX. 


Chesterfield.  Lord,  his  character,  98. 
Clarence,   "William  Henry,   Duke  of,  395; 

his  promotions,  ;395 ;  connection  with  ilrs. 

Jordan,  396 ;  his  personal  qnalitles,  396. 
Olive,  Lord,  commencement  of  military  ca- 
reer, 161.  165 ;  heroic  conduct  at  .Ajcot, 

165 ;  victory  at  Plasscy,  167. 
Corn  Laws,  projjosed  repeal  of,  404. 
Corn  wallis,  Archbishop,  his  levity  reproved, 

819. 
Criminal  Jurisprudence,  efforts  to  reform, 

294. 
Culloden.  battle  of,  145. 
Cumberland,  Duke  of,  his  character  and 

death,  206. 


D 

Darby,  Miss,  mistress  of  George  IV.,  326 ; 
separate  provision  made  for  her,  327. 

Denman,  Lord,  his  defence  of  Queen  Caro- 
line, 373. 

Dettingen,  battle  o^  141. 

Douglas,  Lady,  her  intrigues  against  Queen 
Caroline,  351. 

Dowlah,  Surajah,  cruelty  of,  167. 

Dupleix,  his  achievements  in  India,  163,  164. 


E 

Egremont.  Earl  of;  succeeds  Pitt  as  Pre- 
mier, 1S5. 

Emmet,  Eobert,  his  insurrection  and  death, 
265,  266. 

Eugene,  Prince,  gallantry  at  Blenheim,  4. 


Fitzherbert,  Mrs.,  history  of  her  connection 
with  George  IV.,  335 ;  her  claims  as  his 
wife,  3.37.  ^ 

Fontainblean,  treaty  of,  192;  discussions 
on,  193. 

Eontenoy,  battle  o^  143. 

Fox,  Henry,  enters  the  cabinet,  159. 

Fo.x.  Charles  James,  rise  of,  225 ;  his  East 
India  Bill,  239;  becomes  Premier,  269; 
his  personal  qualities,  304 ;  his  eloquence, 
305 ;  causes  of  his  popularity,  306. 

Francis,  Sir  Philip,  author  of  Junius,  312. 

France,  war  with,  261. 

Frederic,  Prince  of  Wales,  94 ;  hostility  of 
his  parents,  95;  proposals  for  his  mar- 
riage, 112  ;  his  bride,  114 ;  marriage  cere- 
monies, 114 ;  his  death,  143,  149. 

French  Ecvolution,  effects  of,  2o9,  260. 

G 

Gay,  John,  his  poetical  works,  SS. 

George  L,  birth  of,  22 ;  suitor  of  the  Prin- 
cess Anne,  22 ;  becomes  elector  of  Han- 
over, 23 ;  his  marriage,  24 ;  his  accession 
to  the  British  throne,  .34;  arrival  in  Eng- 
land, 35 ;  state  of  the  nation,  36,  39 ;  his 
coronation,  40 ;  his  mistresses,  43 ;  jour- 


ney to  Hanover,  44 ;  his  death,  80, 81 ;  his 

character,  81,  82,  83. 

George  II.,  birth  of,  and  youth,  91;  his 
marriage,  92;  his  social  habits,  93;  his 
mistresses,  94 ;  his  accession,  96 ;  his  first 
Cabinet,  97 ;  his  visit  to  Hanover,  109 ; 
takes  a  new  mistress.  110;  narrowly  es- 
capes shipwreck,  lis,  119;  buffoonery  on 
the  death  of  his  wife,  126, 127 ;  perils  at 
Dettingen,  141 ;  his  death,  16S ;  his  char- 
acter, 170 ;  writers  during  his  reign,  171. 

George  III.,  birth  of,  175;  chief  incident  of 
his  boyhood,  176 ;  connection  with  Han- 
nah L'ightfoot,  176;  proposals  to  many 
Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  177 ; 
his  accession,  179  ;  overruled  by  Lord 
Bute,  181;  his  coronation,  1S9,  190;  his 
first  indications  of  insanity,  204;  inci- 
dents of  his  domestic  life,  230 ;  attempts 
to  assassinate  him,  249,  262 ;  attack  of  in- 
sanity, 251 ;  his  recovery,  2.53 ;  renders 
thanks  in  St.  Paul's  cathedral,  253;  an- 
other attack  of  insanity,  263 ;  minute  de- 
tails respecting  his  insanity,  273,  274,  275 ; 
his  moral  qualities,  -320 ;  religion  during 
his  reign,  320 ;  his  general  character,  321. 

George  IV.,  birth  of,  323;  his  eariy  edu- 
cation, 324 ;  his  personal  appearance,  325 ; 
his  first  mistress,  326 ;  removes  to  Carl- 
ton House.  328;  becomes  enamored  with 
Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  .328 ;  her  history,  329 ; 
debts  of  the  Prince,  331 ;  removes  to 
Brighton,  332 ;  proposed  marriage  with 
Caroline  of  Brunswick,  -334;  diliiculties 
with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  .336 ;  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Marchioness  of  Hertford, 
337 ;  his  marriage  with  Caroline,  339, 341, 
842 ;  his  enormous  debts,  .345 ;  his  con- 
nection with  Lady  Jersey,  .346 ;  his  want 
of  principle,  849  :  "his  hostility  to  his  wife, 
350 ;  intrigues  of  Lady  Douglas,  351 ;  has 
a  commission  appointed  to  prosecute  the 
Princess  Caroline,  3.52 ;  her  vindication, 
853 ;  he  becomes  Eegent,  356 ;  he  be- 
comes King,  376 ;  his  coronation,  378 ; 
refuses  to  allow  the  Queen  to  be  crowned, 
381 ;  exultation  at  his  wife's  death,  3S5 ; 
his  hostility  to  reform,  407 ;  reasons  of  his 
Protestantism,  407 ;  his  last  illness,  415 ; 
his  death,  416;  his  character,  417. 

Gibbon,  Edward,  personal  incidents,  315, 
816 ;  his  historical  works.  317. 

Goderich,  Lord,  succeeds  Mr.  Canning  as 
Premier,  406. 

Grafton,  Duke  of,  interview  with  Pitt,  214 ; 
resigns  the  Premiership,  222 ;  Horace 
Waipole's  opinion  of  him,  222. 

Grenville,  George,  becomes  Premier,  196.  • 

Grey,  Charles,  Earl,  his  youth,  431 ;  hia 
parliamentary  abilities,  431 ;  his  personal 
qualities,  432. 

H 

Hanover,  origin  of  house  of,  19 ;  treaty  o^ 
60.  67. 

Hastings,  "Warren,  his  early  history,  244, 
245 ;  measures  of  his  administration  in 
India,  246 ;  his  trial  in  "Westminster  Hall, 
247 ;  his  ultimate  acquittal,  248. 


rSDEX. 


453 


Ilawke,  Admiral,  great  rictory,  161. 

Hervey,  Lord,  fate  after  Caroline's  death, 
12S  129. 

Howard,  Mrs.,  mistress  of  George  IL,  108. 

Hume,  David,  ITl ;  his  merits  as  aa  histo- 
rian, 317. 

Huskisson,  Mr.,  his  financi.il  abilities,  398 ; 
his  great  public  services,  39S. 


India,  £.181,  British  Company,  its  ori^n, 
162;  its  charter  renewed,  220;  vast  ex- 
tension of  its  power  and  wealth,  232,  233, 
outrages  perpetrated  on  the  subject  na- 
tives,"2.34 ;  influence  and  power  of  Hast- 
ing:s,  235. 

Ireland,  unsettled  state  of,  243 ;  continued 
troubles  in,  401. 


Jacobite  epitaph  on  Prince  Frederic,  150. 
Jersey,  Lady,  mistress  of  George  IV.,  346. 
Jesuits,  order  of,  their  character,  410,  411. 
Junius,  pubUcation  of  his  letters,  221. 


K 

Kent,  Edward  Augustus,  Duke  of,  8S9 ; 
early  discipline  of,  390 ;  his  residence  at 
Gibraltar,  391 ;  his  bravery,  392 ;  becomes 
Governor  of  Gibraltar,  893 ;  his  marriage, 
394 :  his  death,  394. 

Koenigsmark,  family  of,  25 ;  Philip  von,  26 ; 
his  connection  with  the  wife  of  the  Elec- 
tor of  Hanover,  2S ;  his  assassination,  29. 


Law,  his  adventures,  47,  48. 

Legge,  Mr.,  becomes  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, 154. 

Lexington,  battle  of.  228. 

Louis  XIV.,  his  colossal  power,  1 ;  his  ac- 
quisitions of  territory,  2 ;  his  losses  by 
the  War  of  the  Succession,  13. 


M 

Macclesfield.  Earl  of,  his  impeachment,  67. 

Madrid,  treaty  of,  1.S2. 

Malplaquet,  battle  of,  15;  its  results,  IG. 

Maflborough,  Duke  of,  commands  at  Blen- 
heim,  3 ;  rewards  received  for  his  gallant- 
ry, 7 ;  Duchess  of,  10  ;  loses  her  influence, 
11 ;  the  Duke  is  disgraced,  17. 

Masham,  Mrs  ,  rise  of,  11. 

Mississippi,  French  forts  on,  155. 

Moore,  Thom.as,  his  poetical  works,  486. 

Murray,  Lord,  qualities  and  talents  ol^  152. 
f 
N 

Nassau,  Kev.  Mr.,  his  mission  to  Rome,  336. 


Nelson,  Lord,  victory  of  Trafalgar,  268. 

Newcastle,  Duke  of,  his  character,  97 ;  be- 
comes Premier,  154. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  his  genius.  89. 

North,  Lord,  becomes  Premier,  223  ;  his 
personal  and  political  qualities,  299.  300. 

Nottingham,  Earl  of,  his  bill  in  Parliament 
in  favor  of  the  Trinity,  60,  61. 


O 


O'Connell,  Daniel,  his  abilities  and  labors, 

408. 
Orangemen,  their  aims,  402. 
Orange,  Prince  William  of,  2. 
Oudenarde,  battle  of,  12 ;  its  results,  13. 


Pelh.am,  Henrv,  his  qualities,  152. 

Pension  Bill,  the,  139. 

Percival,  Mr.,  becomes  Premier,  356 ;  Ms 
assassination,  356. 

Pitt, William,  his  first  speech  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  112 ;  rise  of  his  popularity, 
151 ;  becomes  Prime  Minister,  159 ;  im- 
mediate results,  160;  splendid  achieve- 
ments of  his  administration,  1S4 ;  singular 
disease  of,  212,  213 ;  his  letters  to  George 
III.,  216;  recovers  his  health,  218;  pecu- 
liarities of  his  eloquence,  297 ;  his  per- 
sonal qualities,  298. 

Pitt,  William,  the  Younger,  his  first  appear- 
ance in  Parliament,  231  ;  he  becomes 
Premier,  240  ;  peculiarities  of  his  elo- 
quence, 241  ;  his  admirable  measures, 
^3 ;  his  project  respecting  unclaimed 
dividends,  257  ;  his  death,  269 ;  his  intel- 
lectual qualities,  806 ;  his  patriotism,  307. 

Plassey,  victory  of,  167. 

Platen,  Countess  von,  her  conduct  and  char- 
acter, 27. 

Pope,  Alexander,  his  life  and  writings,  87, 
88. 

Pragmatic  sanction,  64. 

Priestly,  Joseph,  258. 

Prestonpans,  battle  of,  144. 

Pretender,  heads  the  rebellion  in  Scotland, 
45 ;  his  defeat,  46 ;  his  second  rebellion, 
58 ;  his  victory  at  Prestonpans,  144 ;  hia 
defeat  at  Culloden,  14-5. 

Pulteney,  William,  69, 102. 


R 


Eamillies,  battle  of,  9 ;  its  results,  10. 
Eeform  Bill,  its  provisions,  418,  414. 
Regency,  first  council  of,  appointed,  205. 
Eepresentation,  Parliamentary,  eflforts  to 

reform,  294. 
Eiots  in  StafTordshire  and  South  Wales,  291. 
Eobertson,  William,  171 ;  his  qualities  as  a 

historian,  318. 
Eockingham,  Marquis  of,  becomes  Premier, 

206 ;  his  various  measures,  236,  237. 


4:04: 


JKDEX. 


8 

Saxe,  Marshal,  his  victory  at  Fontenoy,  142. 
Scott,  Sir  "Walter,  his  personal  history,  432 ; 

his  various  writings,  433 ;  his  pecuniary 

difficulties,  433. 
Septennial  Parliaments,  106. 
Seville,  Congress  of,  101. 
Shelbourne,  Earl  of,  becomes  Premier,  237; 

events  during  his  administration,  238. 
Sheridan.  K.  B.,  specimen  of  his  eloquence, 

256 ;  his  history,  309 ;  his  talents,  310. 
Smith,  Adam,  his  writings,  318. 
Spain,  preparations  for  war  with,  79;   its 

results,  SO ;  second  war  declared  against, 

186  ;  results,  187, 188. 
South  Sea  Bubble,  history  of,  43,  49,  50. 
Stamp  Duties,  origin  of,  203,  204;  discus- 
sions respecting,  209,  210. 
Succession,  war  of  the,  3. 
Bwift,  Jonathan,  his  life  and  writings,  85, 86, 

87. 


Tories,  doctrines  of,  37. 

Trafalgar,  victory  of,  268. 

Trinity,  controversies  concerning,  60,  61. 


United  States,  their  freedom  acknowledged, 

237. 
Utrecht,  treaty  of,  17. 


Vernon,  Admiral,  his  successes,  133. 
Versailles,  meeting  of  the  States-General 
at,  264. 


TV 

Walmoden,  Madam,  110;  her  conduct,  115. 

Walpole,  Robert,  his  qualities  as  a  states- 
man, 52,  53,  54 ;  retained  as  Premier  by 
George  II.,  97 ;  furious  attack  on,  in 
Parliament,  134 ;  his  final  retirement, 
137. 

Wellington,  Lord,  victories  in  the  Penin- 
sula, !271;  victory  at  AV^aterloo,  2S3. 

Wellington,  Earl  of,  becomes  Premier,  188. 

"Wilkes,  history  and  character  of,  197, 198 ; 
his  political  agitations,  199  ;  His  Essay  on 
"Woman,  201 ;  his  frequent  re-elections  to 
Parliament,  219. 

Willis,  Dr.,  physician  of  George  III.,  275. 

Whigs,  doctrines  of,  36. 

Walpole,  Horace,  his  history  and  character, 
315. 

Waterioo,  victory  of,  283. 

Wilberforce,  William,  efforts  against  the 
slave-trade,  292, 428 ;  his  unwearied  exer- 
tions, 429  ;  his  personal  qualities,  430. 

Windham,  "WUliam,  qualities  of,  70,  71. 


York,  Duke  of,  his  death,  404. 
Young,  Sir  George,  enters   the  Cabinet, 
237. 


Zell,  princes  of  house  of,  21 ;  Sophia  Do- 
rothea, her  imprisonment,  81,  82  ;  her 
death,  57,  74. 


J 


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